


Cute As Fuck

by RayreeAnne



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M, Feels, Fluff, Modern AU, Pizza, Texting, natsu x lucy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-03
Updated: 2017-03-20
Packaged: 2018-04-29 17:01:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 66
Words: 109,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5135588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RayreeAnne/pseuds/RayreeAnne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lucy Heartfilia orders a pizza late at night to settle her craving, and has a cute guy named Natsu Dragneel delivers it to her. All because of a little review she left, the two of them are now talking and seeing each other! Who knows what else life has in store for them? (Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail.) (Inspired by on-novacaine from Tumblr.) (This was supposed to be a one-shot...)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Twenty-two-year-old Lucy Heartfilia obviously has no shame with the decision she made less than half an hour ago. After all, she is an adult fully capable of making adult choices. So what if she is craving a stuffed crust pizza topped off with cheese, pepperoni, and mushrooms before bed?

When there is a knock on her apartment door, she practically jumps off the couch from watching her television show to race over to it. She even skids along the hardwood floor in her fuzzy pink socks, careful not to slip and fall. Since Lucy paid for her order online with a credit card, all she has to do is take her pizza and hand the delivery person a cash tip. Then she will devour as much pizza goodness as she can before she is full!

Her jaw nearly drops to the ground when she sees the person on the other side. He seems to be around her age and has pink hair under his black baseball cap. The guy is wearing a bright maroon shirt while the collar and short sleeves are black. The rest of his uniform consists of rather tight black pants and black boots. With a broad chest and fit build, the guy has tan skin and mesmerizing dark green eyes.

Now Lucy wishes she looks more presentable. After all, she is in her tank top and shorts that have pink and black stars on them. Her long golden blonde hair is pulled into low twintails while her bangs fall above her eyes. 

“Hiya,” the delivery guy greets with an ear to ear grin, undoing the Velcro of the cover. “I got your order.”

“Thanks,” she says after regaining her composure. 

He passes her the warm cardboard box, fingers brushing against hers. After not dropping the box, she hands him his tip. 

The delivery guy then tips his hat down. “Enjoy!” 

“You, too.” Then Lucy blushes in embarrassment, mortification washing over her. “Uh, I meant, thanks. So thanks! Bye!” Then she quickly shuts the door before she can humiliate herself even more. She leans against the door and inhales deeply, her face feeling as hot as the box in her hands. Then she exhales and shuffles over to her couch. “Smooth move, Lucy.”

**x-X-x ******

Not long after Lucy has finishes her first piece, her phone goes off because of a new email. It is from Makarov’s Pizzeria, the place she ordered her food from, about some survey. Even though she has never filled one out from them before, she does this time all because of the cute delivery guy.

Lucy presses the link and checks it out. Each question can be rated with stars. _How was your inline ordering experience? Was your delivery driver Natsu both punctual and polite? Did Gray make your order accurately and make it to perfection? How likely are you to recommend us? ___Finally, there is a box below to write comments.

So she presses stars and types “Natsu was cute af” before sending it. As if they will bother to look at her review.

**x-X-x ******

Towards eleven o’clock, Lucy is nearly ready for bed. Now all she has to do is grab her phone that she left on the couch and slip under her blankets. She notices a tiny blue light is flashing that lets her know she has notifications. When she checks her phone, she discovers that she has two new text messages from a sender not in her contact list. She opens them and practically gawks.

_Unknown: Hey! This is Natsu from Makarov’s Pizzeria. My manger showed me the comment and I thought it was funny. ___

_Unknown: Lol ___

Her face heats up and she nearly throws her phone across the room. Instead, she stands frozen in place as her chocolate brown eyes never leave the screen. He texted her. The delivery guy texted her. The one she left a comment saying he was cute af texted her. She swallows hard before typing a reply. 

_Lucy: That was totally a joke! I didn’t think anyone would read it! ___

Is she hyperventilating? Does her apartment seem warmer? Is she breaking a sweat?

_Unknown: Whelp, my manager totally did! And then he showed me XD ___

He doesn’t need to remind her of that!

_Unknown: I totally forgot to say this early, but nice jammies by the way :P ___

_Lucy: Hey, I rocked them better than you ever could! ___

_Unknown: Doubt it :P ___

While Lucy debates what to text next, she adds his number to his phone. Still not sure what to say, her fingers type on their own accord. 

_Lucy: Sooo… ___

_Natsu: Soooooo… ___

She isn’t sure how to continue their conversation. In fact, she is still surprised he even texted her in the first place. 

_Natsu: Btw, you’re pretty cute af yourself ;) ___

_Natsu: You know, since I feel like I should return the compliment~ ___

She blinks a few times, just to make sure she is reading things correctly. Then a blush tints her cheeks. 

_Lucy: Thank you o///o ___

_Natsu: Would you wanna go out tomorrow? I don’t have work or anything. ___

She just so happens to be free as well. Lucy does plan on using most of the day to work on her novel, but she can take a break from writing at some point she supposes. 

_Lucy: Do you have anything in mind? ___

_Natsu: Hey, why do I hafta decide? D: ___

_Lucy: Because you suggested it :P ___

_Natsu: Oh… ___

_Natsu: Well then… ___

_Lucy: We could get some food. I’d be up for some lunch! ___

_Natsu: You had me at food :D ___

She laughs. Maybe the way to this guy’s heart is through his stomach. 

_Natsu: I know an amazing place that has some awesome pizza… ___

She rolls her eyes at his sense of humor before typing.

_Lucy: Really? Because I was thinking something along the lines of burgers and fries. ___

_Natsu: I KNOW OF A GREAT PLACE THEN ___

_Natsu: It’s a bowling alley/arcade, but trust me, their burgers and fries are great! You can’t knock it until you try it though!! ___

She is pretty sure she that knows where he is talking about. 

_Lucy: Do you mean Fairy Tail? ___

_Natsu: WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL OF MY LIFE??? ___

_Natsu: YOU BRING UP FOOD AS A DATE IDEA AND YOU KNOW ABOUT FAIRY TAIL!!! ___

She can’t help but smile at his last two texts. He certainly is a funny one. The word “date” slightly catches her off guard though. Only now she supposes that their outing can be considered a date if they both consider it to be one. 

_Natsu: Meet there at 12? ___

_Lucy: It’s a date then! ___

_Natsu: I’m all fired up now! :D ___

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: Whelp, my hands slipped and totally turned a post into a Fairy Tail NaLu thing... This was totally inspired by on-novacaine from Tumblr! I thought it was totally cute/adorable and wanted to make something of it!!
> 
> A/N Part 2: Due to popular demand, I added onto this work! This was supposed to be a one-shot, but that isn’t the case now…
> 
> Edited as of 1/1/2017


	2. Chapter 2

Lucy parks her car in an empty spot in Fairy Tail’s parking lot and shuts off the engine, taking a deep breath. “You can do this.” Butterflies are zooming around her stomach as she walks towards the front doors. It is a quarter to noon, and she is here with plenty of time to wait on Natsu. She may have taken ages to decide what to wear and get ready, but she is here now. 

She is wearing a pretty, pale pink cami that has some detailing around the bust before it cinches underneath, the fabric falling loose around her torso. The rest of her attire consists of short jean shorts and sandals that practically match the color her top. Her hair is tied up in a cute messy bun and she has some makeup on. 

Lucy enters Fairy Tail and is instantly surrounded by familiar sights and sounds. She has been here a number of times with her friends and has grown rather fond of the establishment. She certainly does have wonderful memories involving this place. 

Suddenly, her phone goes off because of a text. When she reads it, she becomes surprised. 

_Natsu: You look cute af today btw :P ___

Her brown eyes glance around, wondering just how he could possibly know that. Sure enough, Natsu is off to the right by a concession stand with a drink in hand.

Since he isn’t wearing a hat, it is easy to see his spiky locks are haphazardly placed and a cowlick makes his bangs stick up in front. It seems like he has on the same boots and pants from yesterday, but his top is different. He is wearing a plain grey tee, the neckline covered up by a white scarf with black lines, and a black cuff around his left wrist. The look is so simple, but so fantastic on him all at the same time. 

Lucy smiles and makes her way over to him. “I just got here.”

He chuckles. “I can tell.”

“Were you waiting long?”

“Nope.” Will he admit he has been here for fifteen minutes already? Never. 

“So what do you want to do first? Bowling or eat?”

Natsu grins. “How about I kick your ass at bowling first?”

She arches her eyebrows. “Is that a challenge?”

He shrugs. “It probably won’t be one for me.”

Standing firmly on her feet, Lucy folds her arms under her well-endowed chest. “You’re on!”

He bows, gesturing out with his arms towards where they will need to rent shoes from. “Weirdos first.”

“I’m not a weirdo,” she huffs, strutting forward. 

He follows after her so they can get their shoes. Once they get their necessary sizes, Natsu is already hanging over his credit card before Lucy can even get her wallet out of her purse. 

“Hey, I’m paying for my shoes,” she tells the worker. “Just ring him his up.”

“Nah, I’m paying for both,” Natsu says, waving her off. 

Thinking Natsu is the scarier one of the two, the worker listens to him and takes the card. 

Lucy puffs her cheeks out. “I easily could have paid for me.”

“Yeah, but I’m the one who suggested Fairy Tail,” he points out, taking his credit card back. 

The duo walks off to find bowling balls to use. Lucy ends up with one in her weight range that has a swirling pink design to it. On the hand, Natsu’s choice is bigger and is a vibrant red.

“Let’s go to lane seven,” he suggests. “It’s open.”

She nods. “Sure.”

With their bowling balls nearby, the two get to work on trading shoes. Natsu finishes first and goes up to the machine to type in information so they can start. 

Since she is a fashionista, Lucy packed a pair of ankle socks inside of a plastic baggy to wear with the bowling shoes. She positively wanted to wear her certain pair of sandals with her top and nothing was going to stop her from doing so. And now with the bowling shoes on, she is ready to wipe the floor with Natsu. Cute or not, he is going down.

“All set!” Natsu announces. 

She looks up to read the two names on the screen: Natsu the Great and Luigi. “Luigi?” she questions.

He gives her a lopsided grin. “It suits you.”

She snorts. “Because Natsu the Great totally suits you.”

“Exactly.”

She gestures towards the lane with a hand. “Weirdos first.”

He rolls his dark green eyes. “That’s my line.” Then he walks over to retrieve the bowling ball he picked out. “Lemme show you how a pro does it!” 

Lucy watches as he steps up and takes a moment to line up his shot. Then he strides forward, swings his arm back, and lets the bowling ball speed down the lane. She cracks up the moment it ends up in the gutter. 

He looks back at her. “You jinxed me! You totally jinxed me!” 

“Maybe you’re just bad to begin with.”

“Am not!” 

“Wait, who just got a gutter ball on their first try?” she teases. “Can you remind me?”

He makes a face at her and walks over to the machine that will spit out the bowling ball. “Just watch, okay? I’m gonna nail it this next time.”

She rolls her eyes playfully. “Surrre.”

After his second throw, Natsu manages to knock down six pins. He spins on his heels to face her, a triumphant look on his face. “Ha! Beat that!”

Without a word, she hops up onto her feet and passes him as they trade places. She grabs the pink bowling ball and waits for the pins to be set up for her, already feeling confident. After everything is ready, she steps up and flings the ball down the lane. Lucy is already walking back to sit down even before the ball collides into the first pin. 

Natsu’s jaw practically hits the floor when all ten pins are knocked down. He points an accusing finger at her, jumping to his feet. “Witch! Black magic! Sorcery!” 

She cracks up. “I’m just really good at bowling.” She puts a finger to her chin. “Didn’t I mention that before?”

His face turns ashen. “Shit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The chapter lengths will get longer. Give it a bit :P


	3. Chapter 3

Natsu is currently on his knees, looking up at their scoreboard. He knew he never stood a chance from the start, but he didn’t think he could lose by such a large margin. 

“Better luck next time,” Lucy giggles. 

He looks back over his left shoulder. “Oh, no! Next time we’re gonna be partners! As if I’ll be against you in bowling ever again!” 

She laughs. Although, she won’t mind that. Lucy has had her share of first dates, some of which ended early for different reasons. But this is different. He is different. And she is hoping for a second date with him. 

With a heavy sigh, Natsu rises to his feet. “Okay, I’m buying food since I lost.” At least he can use his loss as a valid reason for paying. As if he is going to let her do it herself. 

“I can chip in,” she offers. 

He shakes his head. “Nope. By default losers pay.”

“Weren’t you the one who thought you were going to win in the first place?” Lucy questions, hands on hips. 

“Yeah, that was before your turn…” he grumbles, walking over to take a seat so he can remove the bowling shoes. 

She already took the time to change back into her sandals while he had been occupied gawking at their final scores. 

Standing up, Natsu fishes out his phone and takes a picture of their scores. When he sees her giving him an odd look, his only response is, “I’ll need it as proof. Now let’s go!” 

The duo returns the bowling balls and shoes before waiting in line for food. When it is their turn, the worker recognizes them instantly. Max knows them individually as somewhat regulars who are typically here with their friends. “Do you two want your usuals?” he asks. 

Natsu steals a glance at her. “Just how often are you here… ?”

“A lot,” she answers. “Normally I’m here with friends though.”

“Me, too!” 

“Normally whenever a Saturday night works.”

“Hey, same here! Well, not the same day. Friday nights normally.”

She smiles. “Wow! That’s so weird!” 

“Maybe someday we’ll hafta join forces!” Then he looks at Max, taking out his credit card. “Hey sorry about that. Usuals for the both of us please.” 

After the exchange, the two wait for their food. Before long, Lucy is comparing their orders while they claim a spot to sit down and eat. His burger has practically everything on it while hers is simple. He has plenty of ketchup for his fries while hers are kept plain. He even has a dark soda while hers is light. 

“Wow, we’re alike, but kinda different,” Natsu comments, noticing their choices. 

“I was thinking the same thing,” she admits. 

The duo takes a seat across from one another and enjoys more time together while they eat. 

Suddenly, Natsu’s phone vibrates from inside of his pocket and he checks the text. “Ugh, not Ice Princess again,” he groans. 

“Ice Princess?” she questions. 

“My friend.” He looks up from the screen. “He’s just being a dumbass.”

While sipping her soda through the straw, she can practically see the light bulb go off above his head. 

“Can we take a picture together?” he asks eagerly. “Ice Princess doesn’t, er, think you exist…”

That gets a laugh out of her. “If you wanted a picture together all you had to do was ask.”

He perks up. “So you will?”

“As long as you send it to me as well.”

“Done!” So Natsu stands up and moves around the square table to sit right next to her. He turns on the camera, holds his phone out, and they pop up on the screen. 

“Cheese!” Lucy says. 

He takes the picture, and they look it over together. 

“Good?” he asks, wanting to make sure she is all right with it. 

“Fine by me,” she replies, nibbling on a fry. 

After sending the image to her cell phone first, Natsu texts it to his friend. When the response comes through, he shows her. 

_Ice Princess: You totally asked that random girl to take a picture with you :P Nice try, Flame Brain! ___

“See?” Natsu exclaims. “He doesn’t believe me!” 

Lucy merely shrugs. “Oh, well. You know it’s the truth.”

He grins, setting his phone down on the table. “You’re totally right.” Being too lazy to stand up and move again, he pulls his tray towards him. Right before he can take a bite of his burger, his phone starts vibrating from an incoming call. “Oh, c’mon!” Natsu peers over to see who it is. “Dammit, I gotta take this. I’ll be back.” So he grabs his phone and strolls away so he isn’t being obnoxious with the phone call. 

Lucy takes the time to eat, hoping to catch up to what Natsu has already downed. He is easily a faster eater than her and she doesn’t want him waiting on her to finish up. 

“Yo, Pops!” Natsu pauses. “Yeah, I haven’t forgotten. I’ll get ’em after my date.” Another pause. “Grr, why would I lie about something like that?! I’m hanging up!” He ends the call and shuffles over to the table. “Sorry about that.”

“You’re fine,” she says after she swallows a bite. 

He reclaims his spot next to her. “My dad was just making sure I don’t forget the things for my sister’s birthday party that’s coming up this weekend.” Then he starts grumbling. “And he didn’t believe me either that you exist.” 

She giggles. “You certainly have a streak of not landing any dates.”

Natsu scratches the back of his head. “This is kinda my first date…” 

She is surprised. “I never would have guessed that.” Then she softly smiles. “By the way, this is my favorite date so far.”

He perks up. “Like ever?”

“Of all time,” Lucy confirms. 

With that, he lights up with a toothy smile from ear to ear. “Hey, would you wanna come over to the party on Saturday?” he asks. “Don’t feel like you’re obligated though. Just if you’re free.”

She is slightly surprised he asked her since they did not know the other existed until last night. However, she rolls with it. “What time?” 

“Starts at three.”

Lucy has a book signing noon to three that day which means she can swing by afterwards. “I have a thing that ends at that time so I can make it after I’m done.”

“Woo, I’m all fired up now!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Under normal circumstances, I’m sure a person wouldn’t have asked their date to join them for a party that’s days away. But Natsu is already trusting Lucy from the time they’ve spent together already. After all, Lucy is Lucy! And more time together is to come!! 
> 
> Edited as of 1/1/2017


	4. Chapter 4

The duo is currently making their way through Magnolia Fashion Place, which is more commonly known as Magnolia Mall. It is highly popular and attracts many people with the indoor and outdoor shops and restaurants it has. As a way to continue their date, Natsu asked Lucy for help in shopping for a birthday gift for his sister. She will be sixteen, and he wants to make it special for her. 

“So what is Wendy like?” Lucy inquires, wanting to know who they are shopping for. 

He is already smiling at the thought of her. “She’s pretty awesome actually. Really good in school and has great grades. She wants to become a doctor someday!”

“What are some things she’s into? Clothes? Makeup? Books? Sports? Videogames?”

Natsu shrugs. “She’s not big on clothes. I think she wears some makeup. Yeah, she likes books. She isn’t really into sports. She’s not a fan of videogames.”

“All right, what kind of books?”

“Her taste ranges from the classics to some more modern stuff.”

“Do you mean _Pride and Prejudice ___or _The Shining ___for classics?”

“ _Pride and Prejudice ___for sure. She likes stuff like that.”

“So Jane Austen and Charles Dickens.”

He nods. “Yeah, those names sound familiar. I’m sure Wendy has those on her shelf.”

“What about some more modern ones?”

“Her favorite author is J.K. Rowling.”

Lucy lights up. “I love _Harry Potter ___!”

“So does Wendy! She owns all of the books!” 

“I do, too! All right, who else? She owns the _Harry Potter ___series so that’s off the table.”

“Ashley.”

Lucy blinks. “Huh?”

“Ashley. That’s another author she likes. No last name though. Just Ashley.”

Lucy does her best to not deadpan. That is the penname she uses when she publishes novels. In fact, the book signing she has on Saturday is one where she will be the one signing books! Natsu will know she is Ashley if he happened to look at her little photo on the back of the inside covers of her published novels.

“Ashley, huh?” she asks, being blasé about the topic.

“Yeah. Wendy really loves all of her books. They have enough romance, action, and adventure for her.”

“Does Wendy have all of them?”

“All except the last one that was published not too-Hey! I should get that for Wendy! I bet she’d love it!” 

An idea comes to Lucy, knowing she has a few spare copies of her latest novel back at her apartment. “I can do you one better…”

Natsu gives her an incredulous look. “How can you top that?”

“A signed copy of _Elvina ___.”

His green eyes grow wide with surprise. “How?! You gotta tell me! C’mon!” 

She laughs. “I can’t reveal my secret!” 

He groans dramatically. “Lameee.”

Suddenly, Lucy freezes when she sees something past Natsu. 

“What’s up?” he asks, stopping as well. 

She rushes over to the railing to her left and looks at the store across the way. It is a men’s clothing store that features three, black and white banners hanging in front of the windows on the right side. Her eyes focus on the middle one. While looking off to the side, the shirtless model has his toned back towards the camera so the back of his jeans are displaying the brand. Which, by the way, make his ass look mighty fine to say the least. Lucy has seen the backside of Natsu more than enough today while he was up bowling and she was sitting down. Besides, his profile is easily recognizable, too. 

She turns to look to her left, finding he is standing there and leaning one arm against the railing as well. “Natsu… ?” she asks delicately. 

He rubs the back of his head sheepishly with his free hand. “Yeah, I got some modeling under my belt. I pretty much only wear that store’s clothes. Like what I’m wearing right now is all from there actually. Well, except the scarf. 

“Couple years back, a manager saw me walking around the store in their clothes. She loved the look and ended up contacting some higher ups. Next thing I knew I was offered to model their clothes.”

Lucy laughs. “Clothes, huh? That implies more than one. The only thing I see you wearing in that is a pair of jeans.” 

“Hey, I was wearing a shirt before they took that photo,” Natsu says defensively. “They just ended up using one where I wasn’t wearing it…”

She rolls her eyes. “Sure you were.” Then she cracks up. “So you model and deliver pizza? That’s such an odd combination!” 

He arches his eyebrows. “Oh, yeah? Well, what do you do?”

“I write,” she says matter-of-factly.

He makes a face. “I don’t like reading.”

Old memories fill her mind as Lucy’s expression softens. “When I was little, my mother was in the hospital and I used to read to her all of the time. She enjoyed it.” Her lips curve upwards slightly. “She enjoyed it even more when I would tell her the stories I came up with…” If only Layla can see what her daughter has accomplished since those hospital days. 

Natsu is quick to notice the change in the atmosphere. “I don’t know my real folks. I was so little that I can’t remember ’em. Igneel and Grandeeney adopted me when I was a kid. Not much later, they adopted Wendy when she was a baby. Happy family of four. Well, six if you include the cats we have.”

“You still live at home?”

“I used to have an apartment with a friend, but then Ice Princess and his girlfriend wanted to live together. So I packed up and moved back home so she could move in with him. It’s temporary for now since I’m looking for a new roommate or two.”

“Good luck with that.” Lucy tried looking for a roommate in the past, but no one ever clicked. So that is why she lives alone now.

“Thanks. I’m sure I’ll need it.”

Something dawns on her. “I’m sorry. Things got off track because of me.”

“It’s cool.” Then Natsu jerks his head to the right. “Let’s keep walking, yeah?” He walks off, leading the way. 

She follows after him and they pass more stores before she realizes something. “Wait, where are we going?”

“Whatcha mean?” he questions. 

“Aren’t we just walking around aimlessly now?”

“Huh?”

“We came here to figure out a birthday gift for Wendy, but now we have that in mind.” 

“Guess you’re right.” He simply shrugs. “Oh, well. Doesn’t mean we hafta leave. Uh, unless there’s somewhere you need to be.”

She smiles up at him. “I don’t.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: For those of you who have read More Than a Princess, Elvina is my version without Fairy Tail characters. Some things are different storyline wise though, along with people, of course. Like the princess is Elvina while the second prince from another kingdom is Owen and so on… I totally coulda said the Lucy in this fic was the author of Rave, but I wanted to change things up! 
> 
> Edited as of 1/1/2017


	5. Chapter 5

The blonde is almost finished with her book signing that has been going well so far. After she gets through this last bunch of people, she will be done. She is somewhat eager for it to be over so she can drive over to the birthday party. 

“Here you are.” Yukino Agria, her close friend and assistant, hands her a chilled water bottle. With caring brown eyes, she has short styled, pale hair and bangs that frame her face. Her only form of accessory is a dark blue rose that adorns the left side of her head. 

“Thank you so much!” Lucy twists off the cap and takes a swig, relieving her dry throat that has been overused from all of the talking she has done. “All right, next please!”

Two people who cannot be more different step up to the table. 

Holding a copy of Elvina, the young woman is petite and slender in size and has hazel eyes that seem to pop with her fair skin. She has shoulder-length, azure blue locks that fall in waves and her bangs are kept back by a yellow headband.

The guy accompanying her simply towers over her with his muscular frame and height. He has long, spiky black hair that is slicked back to reveal his forehead and piercing red eyes. His most noticeable feature is all of the silver studded piercings on his face.

“Hello!” the blonde greets warmly. 

The short-haired bluenette beams. “Hi!” Then she holds out the novel. “Here you are.” 

Lucy takes the hardcover book and opens it up to sign. 

“Gihi, Shrimp might be a little nervous since it’s her first time meeting ya,” the black-haired guy chuckles. 

“Gajeel!” she hisses in embarrassment, elbowing him. 

The blonde smiles and hands back the newly signed novel. “I’m always happy meeting fans.”

Her hazel eyes light up. “Thank you so much, Ashley!” 

“No problem!” Lucy waves goodbye as they walk away. 

Two new faces approach the table. 

The first one has sharp eyes that are dark blue and a similar hairstyle that reminds her of Natsu; however, his locks are blond. Above his right eye is a thin scar that runs diagonally while his left ear has a single piercing that is a metal pendant that resembles a crystal.

The other guy has black hair tied back into a short ponytail, leaving his long bangs down to cover the majority of his face. His left piercing red eye is exposed and a scar across the bridge of his nose is noticeable. 

The blond eagerly thrusts out his copy of the novel. “Hey, Ashley!”

She takes the book from him. “Hello.” 

“Uh, can you make it out to Sting?” he asks bashfully. “Please?”

“I sure can.” Her blue pen glides across the page as she writes before she autographs it. Then she hands it back before looking at the other. “Do you have a copy?”

He shakes his head. “Oh, I’m just here for moral support. I had to make sure he didn’t feint or something.”

“Rogue, why would you tell her that?” his friend demands, cheeks turning pink.

“Well, you did a good job not feinting,” Lucy compliments. 

The blond whips his head around to smile at her. “Thanks!”

“Come on, let’s go,” the one with black hair says. “Levy and Gajeel are waiting on us.”

As they step aside, the blonde asks, “All right, who is next?”

x-X-x

It is a little bit after three by the time Lucy finishes and the book signing is officially over. She did not want to turn away the remaining people once three o’clock hit. After all, everyone patiently waited in line and caused no trouble.

“You had a great turnout,” Yukino comments, packing leftover novels into a box. 

“I’m happy things worked out the way did they,” the blonde says, helping her. “Nothing bad happened at all.”

“No crazy fans this time!” they say in unison with a laugh. 

“Hey, don’t you have somewhere to be?” the pale-haired woman inquires. “I thought you said something about having plans as soon as this ended.” 

“I can leave once things are all packed away.”

She waves away the thought with a hand. “Go on. I’ll take care of things here.”

Lucy pauses. “Are you sure?”

She smiles. “I’m sure.” 

Walking around the table, the blonde moves in to hug her tightly. “Thank you!” 

Yukino laughs. “You seemed happier than usual so I guessed it’s because of the plans you mentioned earlier. I want you to have fun the rest of the day. After all, you had a really good turnout for the signing.”

“This is why I love you!” 

“I love you, too! Now get going!” 

Lucy is quick to gather her personal belongings and make her way out to her car. Her denim blue Beetle with tan convertible top is easy to spot out in the sea of other vehicles. She gets inside and takes out her cell phone to call Natsu since she still needs the address to the house. While the phone rings, she glances over at the passenger seat. In spare pink wrapping paper she had at her apartment, the personalized signed copy for Wendy is all ready for the birthday girl. 

“Hiya, Luce!” the pinkette greets when he answers. 

“I just wanted to let you know I’m finished my thing now.”

“Woo, I’m all fired up!”

“So text me the address and I’ll head right over.”

“I’ll do that when I hang up. Just text me when you get here, okay?”

“Sounds like a plan.” Something pops up in her mind. “Wait, do I need to bring anything? Like desserts or drinks? I’m out and can easily stop by a store of someone needs something.”

“Nope! Just bring yourself and the gift. Everything else is already taken care of.”

“Oh, all right.”

“See you soon, Luce!” 

“Bye, Natsu!”

The blonde starts her car while she waits for the text. Once it comes through, she plugs in the address on her phone and starts the drive that is close to fifteen minutes long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So now the birthday arc is starting up! I’m not sure how long it will be or what will come after… I’m hoping some other arcs, even if they are little, come to mind!


	6. Chapter 6

As soon as Lucy parks her car and turns off the engine, she grabs her phone. After ending the navigation and before she can even text Natsu, the front door swings open and he happens to step outside. She notices the movement out of the corner of her eye and is slightly surprised to see him. 

He merely waves, proceeding to meet her as he steps off the front porch.

Grabbing the gift, Lucy steps out of her vehicle and locks it behind her. “How did you know?”

“My Natsu sense was tingling,” he replies with a grin. 

She arches an eyebrow at him. 

“I was totally just looking out the window when I saw your car pull up.” He stops in front of her. “Sooo did you have fun at your thing?”

She hands him the gift and smiles. “I did.”

Together, they walk up to the house. It is a modest, two-story structure with flowers and cut lawn. It seems cozy with its red brick exterior that has black trim and shutters. 

“Is everyone else here?” Lucy inquires. 

“Yep! The whole family is inside. Well, except two people. They’re on their way though.”

“Family?” she squeaks. 

“Yeah, all family today. Well, except Lug Nut’s fiancée and you.”

She becomes flustered he left out that rather specific detail. “You totally didn’t mention that before!” 

“I didn’t think it mattered…” he admits sheepishly. 

Lucy stops on the front porch. “I would have been able to mentally prepare myself for meeting them.”

Natsu smiles and places a hand on the handle. “You’ll be fine, Luce.”

She takes a deep breath. “I hope so…”

He opens the door and gestures for her to walk inside first. 

She steps over the threshold and glances around for shoes. “Is there no rule about no wearing shoes inside?” she asks after not being able to find any. 

“It’s whatever you want. There is some stuff out in the backyard so people are keeping ’em on.”

Lucy opts to keep her shoes on. Voices from down the hall attract her attention and she gulps. 

“Don’t worry, I told ’em I was having somebody over,” Natsu assures her. “Not like it’s a surprise.”

She does not step forward until he nudges her a little. When the duo enters the kitchen that also has a table for eating, three different sets of eyes look over. 

The muscular man has dark red slicked back hair and dark eyes. He has tan skin and a build big along with two visible scars on his face. Making his overall image seem intimidating, the first sliver of a scar is along is right eye while the one is above the right side of his lip in an x-shape. 

The slender woman has sweet blue eyes and somewhat curly white locks that are pulled back in a low ponytail. With fair skin, she stands close to a foot shorter than her husband and has a caring nature about her. 

The teenage girl has long dark blue hair down to her waist and a pair of russet brown eyes. She is petite in size and easily more compact than the woman she is standing next to. 

“Family, this is–” Natsu begins. 

The girl Lucy is assuming is Wendy gasps loudly, eyes impossibly wide. 

“What’s wrong?” the woman asks. 

“A-A-Ash–” she stutters. 

“Ash… ?” the man questions. 

Lucy smiles a little. “It’s nice to meet you, Wendy.”

She gasps again. “You know my name!” 

“Well, duh,” Natsu says. “I told her about you.”

Wendy looks at her brother with amazement. “How do you know Ashley?”

“Whoa, Ashley?” He turns to Lucy with a confused look. “Ashley?”

“That’s the penname I use when I write.”

“Oh. That’s also the name of the author Wendy really likes. Huh, what are the odds of that?”

The man facepalms. “He certainly didn’t get his brains from me…”

“Welcome to our home,” the woman says warmly, ignoring her spouse’s comment. “My name is Grandeeney and my husband is Igneel. You already know our son, Natsu, and apparently you know of Wendy, our daughter.”

“It’s a pleasure,” Lucy says. 

“And she’s Lucy,” Natsu introduces. “And I guess she’s Ashley, too.”

She looks at him. “So the thing I had earlier was a book signing. A book signing where I was the one signing books. For a book I recently published under the penname of Ashley. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I just wanted to keep that a secret for a little bit.”

Natsu blinks at her. “So you write books… And sell books…” He is still trying to wrap his mind around the concept.

“She is a famous best-selling author, Natsu,” Wendy explains. “Her books are highly popular and have sold around the world.”

“She’s famous?!” Natsu questions, eyes wide with shock. Obviously he did not know what he would be getting himself into that time he decided to text her.

Lucy chuckles. “Says the model for a company.”

“I don’t do international stuff!” he argues. 

“Wow, that’s a big word coming from you,” Igneel teases. “I’m proud.”

He points a finger at him. “Hey! Watch it, old man!” 

“What’s going on in here?” a somewhat familiar voice asks. 

The five look over as two others stroll into the kitchen from the family room with a dropped floor. Lucy instantly recognizes them from the book signing. 

“Ashley… ?” Sting practically whispers in a hushed voice. 

“Hello,” she greets a second time today. 

With that, he loses it and feints. 

Rogue is quick to catch him before he can even hit the floor. 

“Is he all right… ?” Lucy inquires with worry, not sure if she should phone for an ambulance or not. 

“I guess he wasn’t prepared to see Ashley twice in one day,” Rogue muses. Then he picks up the unconscious young man and manages to carry him into the family room. 

“Oh, speaking of that!” Natsu holds out the gift. “Special delivery!” 

Wendy’s eyes light up. “Thank you!” 

With a grin, Natsu slings an arm over Lucy’s shoulders. “Well, I had help.”

“Thank you, Ashley! Err, Lucy.” She has a mini internal struggle with which name she should use. “Um, which do you prefer?”

“Lucy is fine,” she replies. 

“Can she open it now?” Natsu asks eagerly, looking at his parents. “Pleaseeeee?”

Igneel shrugs. “I don’t see why not.”

“Do it!” Natsu urges. “Do the thing!” 

With a smile, Wendy tears away the wrapping paper and grows excited when she sees the hardcover version of Elvina. She looks up at the two, hugging the book to her chest. “Oh, wow! Thank you!” 

“Open it,” they say in unison. 

She does and reads the writing in blue ink, her smile growing bigger and bigger. When she finishes reading the message, she rushes up to the duo and hugs them. “Thank you so much!” 

“You’re welcome,” Lucy says.

“And happy birthday, Wendy,” Natsu adds. 

Suddenly, the front door opens up. “Oi, we’re finally here!” a deep voice announces. 

“Sorry we took so long!” a higher voice adds. 

The trio breaks apart and moves to the side so the newcomers can walk into the kitchen. 

Two more familiar faces enter the room. It is almost hard for Lucy to believe two others from the book signing are here. 

“Shrimp was so excited about meeting her favorite author that she left Wendy’s gift back at the apartment,” Gajeel explains as he looks at the married adults. 

As soon as the young woman sees Lucy, she freezes and clutches onto her fiancé. 

He looks down at her. “What’s wrong?” Noticing where she is looking, he looks over. “Oh. It’s you. Hey, Shrimp, it’s–”

“Ashley!” she interrupts, not meaning to be rude. “Oh, my goodness! Ashley is here!” She pauses for a moment. “Wait, why are you here… ?”

“Natsu invited me,” she replies. “And feel free to call me Lucy. I only use Ashley as my penname.”

Getting over her star struck moment, she smiles. “I’m Levy and this is Gajeel.”

“Nice to meet you,” Gajeel says. “Again.”

“You, too,” Lucy says. 

Natsu nudges her. “Hey, wanna check out outside? I’m sure Uncle Metalicana is almost done grilling.” 

“Oh, yeah. Uncle Weisslogia and Uncle Skiadrum left while we were walking up to the house,” Gajeel says. “Apparently neither of them brought buns because they thought the other one was gonna do it.”

Igneel shakes his head. “Leave it to those two.”

“At least we’ll start eating when they get back,” Grandeeney points out. 

Suddenly, Lucy feels something soft snaking around her bare ankles. She looks down and sees a blue cat much to her surprise. He is wearing a green bandana and looks up at her with dark feline eyes before meowing. 

Natsu grins. “Hey, Happy likes you!”

She bends over to pick him up, holding him close. “Why is he blue?”

“He got into some paint and we’re having difficulty washing it out,” Grandeeney replies. “He’s a little troublemaker.”

“Much like Natsu,” Igneel adds with a laugh. 

“Hey!” he says defensively, shooting his father a look. 

Happy meows again before headbutting Lucy to the best of his ability. 

“He’s a talker, that’s for sure,” Natsu chuckles. 

“Carla is a quieter than him,” Wendy says as she picks up a white feline with a dark pink collar. “But she still voices her opinion.”

Gajeel studies Lucy and Happy closely. “Why does something ’bout this look off… ?”

Levy snaps her fingers together. “Normally Happy only lets Natsu hold him.”

“Really?” Lucy asks as she continues to pet his white underbelly. 

Wendy nods her head. “Definitely!” 

“Maybe he’ll end up liking her more!” Igneel jokes. 

“Happy wouldn’t betray me like that!” Natsu says. 

Everyone laughs. 

Lucy takes a moment to glance at those around her. She hopes all will go well while she is here. It has been ages since she has been with company like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: More to come in the next chapter for sure :) I hope y’all are enjoying this fic so far!! Also, two things will be different from here on out. (1) Writing style has a changed a wee bit. Should make reading a lil’ bit easier for y’all. (2) Rather than having a 1k minimum word count, I plan on bumping it up to 1.5k since I finished another fic!
> 
> A/N Part 2: So a couple of people now (from FFnet) have mentioned something about the rating and title. That the rating needs bumped up because the f word is in it. I have debated changing the title to just Cute AF since that’s what originally was texted in the first chapter. And, as of now, I don’t think I plan on adult themes occurring in this. However, some more cursing will probably occur (like the normal ass/damn/shit and maybe fuck if the matter is serious enough). So do y’all think I should change the rating or the title? I’m totally unsure because of this fic!


	7. Chapter 7

By now, Lucy has learned the basics of everyone. Igneel is the oldest brother of Metalicana, Weisslogia, and Skiadrum. The last two brothers happen to be fraternal twins. Those four are the only blood relationships the family has. Igneel is married to Grandeeney, and their two adopted children are Natsu and Wendy. They also have the two cats, Happy and Carla. Metalicana adopted Gajeel, and he is engaged to Levy. Weisslogia adopted Sting while Skiadrum adopted Rogue. 

The only reason Lucy fits into the bunch and now knows these people is because she is with Natsu. 

As of now, everyone is outside enjoying different grilled foods and beverages. Present and cake time will occur later. Currently, Lucy is receiving attention from Levy and Sting as they sit down at a table. Both are clearly interested in her and what she does. On the other hand, she is not the one minding the attention. 

“Elvina is probably my favorite book by you,” Sting gushes. 

“Why’s that?” Lucy asks, generally curious. 

“Elvina was just off to see the duke she’s betrothed to when suddenly she and her guards are attacked by bandits! And then she ends up being found by the second prince from another kingdom! The very kingdom her kingdom is enemies with!”

“I like the connection she and Nathaniel had the instant they met,” Levy sighs dreamily. 

“Even though he threatened her with a sword?” Sting scoffs. 

“Well, that’s because he didn’t know who she was,” Lucy says to defend his actions. “She could have been a bandit sneaking up on him and his guards for all he knew.”

Levy nods in agreement. “Exactly! And”-she elbows Sting in the side-“I meant the connection when Nathaniel carried Elvina back to his camp with his guards and took care of her. It was absolutely precious!” 

“At least everything worked out for them in the end,” Lucy points out. 

The two give her a similar look. “Even though you had my emotions all over the place,” Sting says.

“Mine, too!” Levy adds. 

“It was like getting on a roller coaster ride I didn’t know had a whole lot of drops and loops!” 

“That’s a great way to describe it!” 

Lucy holds her hands up defensively as she laughs. “I had to make sure readers stayed interested somehow!” 

“And you thought toying with our emotions was the best way?” Sting questions. 

“It seemed to work, right?” Lucy asks. 

“Oh, it totally worked,” Levy agrees. 

Having had enough of Lucy giving them her attention, Natsu finally walks up to the trio. 

“Oh, hey, Natsu!” Sting greets. 

Without a word, he bends over and flings Lucy over his right shoulder. 

“Wh-what are you doing?!” she screeches, clutching onto him so she does not fall. Only now she is grateful that she wore cute, black high-waisted shorts rather than a skirt she originally was planning on. Lucy would be pounding fists onto his back, but she does not want let go of the handfuls of his shirt she has. She currently has a death grip on the fabric and does not plan on releasing until she back on her own two feet. 

Natsu does not speak as he heads towards the backdoor, remaining as stoic as ever. 

No one present says a word about what is happening. In fact, they all watch and do not bother stopping him on his way to his destination. From her position, Lucy is unaware of the looks they are receiving while Natsu is oblivious to them as if they do not exist. 

After opening the back door with his free hand, Natsu steps into the house and closes it with his foot behind him. Of course, he is careful to not jar around the cargo he is carrying.

“Stop and put me down!” Lucy demands, hoping he does not accidentally drop her. 

He only stops after he walks up to the second floor, knowing no one else is upstairs. Bending over and slipping his hands onto her hips, Natsu sets her down on her feet before straightening his body out. 

“What was that about?” Lucy questions with a huff.

“I thought you wanted some breathing room,” he replies casually as though he did nothing wrong. 

Something clicks in place for Lucy. “Did you… by chance… get jealous?” she inquires. 

His cheeks tint pink and he averts his gaze, opting to look at a blank spot on the wall. “I invited you here and they’re hogging all of the time with you.”

“You’re so dramatic,” she snorts. 

“Am not!” he argues, still not making eye contact with her. 

“You literally carried me over your shoulder and walked upstairs. You–” A thought come to her and Lucy starts laughing. 

Natsu finally looks back at her. “What’s so funny?”

“You’re like”-she laughs some more-“like some dragon!” 

He tilts his head to one side. “Huh?”

“You nabbed the princess and flew off to your cave with her!” she muses. 

He smiles at the idea before chuckling. “I guess I did do that.”

“Jealousy can make people do silly things.”

“I wasn’t jealous.”

Lucy arches an eyebrow at him. 

“Okay, so maybe I was a little bit…”

“By the way, Natsu…”

“Yeah?”

Her lips curve upwards in a small smile. “You can let go now.”

He looks down at his hands, discovering they are still on her hips. “Whoops!” Natsu quickly stuffs his hands into his pockets. “Sorry about that.”

“You’re fine,” she giggles, pulling down her black spotted white blouse so it falls properly once again. “So are you going to be ready to go back out there?”

“Yeah. Are you?”

“And this time, I’ll spend more time with you.” 

“Guess I didn’t think you’d be so popular.” 

Lucy simply shrugs. “It happens when people recognize me.” Then she folds her arms under her chest. “I’m sure girls just flock over you, Mr. Model. Not to mention guys.”

“Is that jealousy I smell?” Natsu asks with raised eyebrows. 

She rolls her eyes. “You can’t smell jealousy.” 

He pulls his right hand out of his pocket to tab the side of his house. “But this dragon can.”

At that comment, Lucy snorts. “Great. Now you think you’re a dragon.”

“Hey, dragons are awesome!” 

“Sureee they are.” 

Natsu gasps, holding a hand over his heart. “Do you doubt ’em?”

“They’ve never really… impressed me.” 

With that, he grins. “Challenge accepted.”

“Challenge? What challenge?”

“I’m gonna hafta impress you.” A light bulb practically goes off above his head. “Hey, are you free tomorrow?”

She thinks for a moment. “I believe so.” 

“Would you wanna go out to lunch? Or dinner? I know a great spot I’m pretty sure you’d like. It’s a French bistro and bakery called the Petit Papillon.”

Lucy perks up at the name. “I’ve been meaning to go there for awhile now since I drove past it one day!” Then she smiles. “I’d love to have lunch there with you tomorrow.” 

He smiles. “It’s a date!” 

She laughs. “Well, what else would it–”

“Natsuuu!” Igneel hollers from the bottom of the staircase. “I better not come up there and find my only son in a position I’d rather not see!” 

He steps back and pokes his head around the corner to shout back. “We’re fine, old man! Just chatting!”

“After a scene like that?”

“Chatting!” Natsu assures him. 

“At least let Lucy come down! We all miss her!” 

He feigns offense. “Hey, what about me?”

“We’re all tired of your mug! We like her more!” 

“Hey!” 

Lucy stifles a laugh, enjoying their form of entertainment. 

Natsu whips his head around to look at her. “Don’t encourage him.” 

Ignoring his words, she grabs a hold of his right wrist with a hand and pulls him along. “Come on! Let’s go!” 

x-X-x

It is so late that Lucy is the only guest remaining from the party since everyone else has left. The Dragneel family and her are sitting down in the family room, finishing up a movie that Wendy picked out. 

Currently, the two men are bawling their eyes out while the other three are a bit misty eyed. When the credits start rolling, that is when the talking begins. 

“D-damn tear jerker movie,” Igneel curses, wiping away his tears on his leaves. 

Natsu sniffles loudly, snot still running. “I heard it was a sad movie, but I didn’t think it woulda been that sad!” 

“You’ve never seen Marley & Me before?” Lucy questions, blinking back her tears. She continues stroking Happy who decided her lap was the best seat in the house. 

“No!” he sobs. “Because I don’t like sad movies!” 

“I don’t either!” Igneel voices. 

“You two are being such babies,” Grandeeney chuckles. 

“Mom’s right!” Wendy agrees, petting Carla who is snuggling next to her. 

Natsu looks over at his sister. “Why would you put us through this misery? Don’t you love us?”

“Just like John loved Marley,” Lucy comments. 

That causes Natsu to cry even more. “John loved Marley so much! Even though he was such a troublemaker!” 

“Just like you, Natsu,” Lucy and Wendy point out in unison. 

“Natsu, I love you, son!” Igneel says suddenly. 

“I love you, too, old man!”

Igneel rises to his feet and holds his arms wide open. “C’mere!” 

So he stands up and walks over to his father, stepping into his warm embrace. They hug, clapping each other on the back. 

Lucy looks over at Wendy and Grandeeney. “Is this normal?” she stage whispers. 

Grandeeney simply nods. 

“About as normal as those two can get,” Wendy jokes. 

Looking back at the two, Lucy feels bittersweet about the moment. She wishes she had that kind of relationship with her own father. It has been a few years now since she last saw him let along spoke with him.

The duo breaks apart, still sniffling and gaining control of their emotions. With one final clap on his father’s back, Natsu faces Lucy. “Sorry you had to see that.” 

She shakes her head. “It’s fine.” Then she grabs Happy and moves him off to the side so she can stand. “But I think it’s time I got going. Getting late and all.” 

Wendy rises to her feet and walks over to hug her. “Thank you for coming over! And thank you so much for the book!” 

Lucy hugs her back. “You’re welcome!” 

They break apart, and Grandeeney is the next to hug her. “It was a pleasure meeting you. Come back anytime, all right?”

“Sounds good.” Lucy says. 

When Grandeeney walks away, Igneel engulfs her in a hug, making Lucy feel incredibly small. “I’m happy you two found each other,” he whispers just for her to hear. 

Lucy feels a blush creep in on her cheeks. “M-me, too,” she admits.

Igneel moves aside, leaving Natsu the last one. “I’ll walk you out,” he says. 

After one last round of goodbyes, the duo is walking out to Lucy’s car. “You come from a family of huggers,” she comments. 

Natsu rubs the back of his head sheepishly. “Yeah, that’s our thing.” 

“It’s a good thing.” 

“Not unless it turns into a competition to see who can hug harder.” 

Lucy laughs. “Of course, you would try that.”

He shrugs. “I’m really competitive.” 

“I can tell.” 

The two stop in front of the driver’s door to the vehicle. “So tomorrow?” Natsu asks. 

She nods. “Tomorrow. Did you have a specific time in mind?”

“Uh, noon? Noon-thirty?”

“Noon-thirty sounds great. I’ll meet you there.”

“I’m all fired up now!” Then he holds his arms out, a grin on his face. “My turn.”

Without a word, she steps forward and slips her arms around his torso. She inhales, able to smell the remaining cologne on him. It reminds her of cinnamon. 

Natsu rests his chin on her head. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Luce.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: This chapter was waaaay longer than I meant it to be XD At least y’all got a “slightly” jealous Natsu in this chapter XD Seemed like a nice touch though~ 
> 
> A/N Part 2: French translation of “Petit Papillon” is “Little Butterfly” for those who are curious and I’m going to base it on La Chatelaine. It’s a restaurant that I absolutely love and (I wrote this chapter while I was craving it) THE BOYFRIEND TOTALLY TOOK ME THERE FOR DINNER THIS EVENING. So that helped me write the next chapter!


	8. Chapter 8

Noon-thirty ended up not working for Natsu due to unforeseen circumstances. So now that is around four-thirty, Lucy is pulling into the parking lot for Petit Papillon. She parks her vehicle in a free space and shuts off the engine, slipping her keys into her purse. She unlocks the door, but stops before opening it when her phone goes off. Lucy decides to check it quickly, discovering it is a text. 

Yukino: Hey, this is just a little reminder that you have another book signing a week from today! You do remember when and where, right?

Just so she will not have to worry, Lucy takes a moment to reply back. 

Lucy: I’ll be all good to go then! I’m looking forward to it :)

Suddenly, her door opens without warning. Lucy turns to look as her heartbeat becomes erratic, eyes falling onto a familiar face. 

“Hiya!” Natsu greets. 

She sighs in relief, regaining her composure. “Don’t scare me like that!” 

“Scare you?” He tilts his head to one side. “Whatcha mean?”

Slipping her phone into her purse, Lucy gets out of her car and stands up. “You don’t just randomly open people’s car doors.”

“But it wasn’t random. I was helping you out.”

“Then give me a warning next time.”

“I tried waving atcha, but you were busy with your phone.”

“My assistant was just reminding me about things.”

Natsu waggles his eyebrows. “Ooo, look at you being all fancy with an assistant.”

Lucy rolls her eyes playfully. “I’m sure you have a manager or something.”

“Or something,” he agrees, pushing a button on the still open door to lock the vehicle. “Ready to go inside?”

She smiles. “You bet.”

After shutting the door, the duo heads for the front of Petit Papillon. Natsu is the one who gets the door and holds it open, gesturing with his free hand. “Mademoiselle,” he says with perfect annunciation. 

Lucy giggles and steps over the threshold, taking in all of the new sights. The whole place has a rather cozy feel to it. Polished wood and bookshelves filled with all sorts of novels with decoration here and there. In one corner is a fireplace with tables in front of it while some of the walls have paintings on them. She may or may not have found a new place to sit and write with her laptop. 

With no line, the duo steps forward to the counter. 

The older female worker smiles at them. “Bonjour!”

That is one French word Lucy actually understands and she knows it means “hello” for sure. 

“Bonjour!” Natsu says warmly. “Comment allez-vous aujourd’hui?”

Lucy has to do a double take. Did he really just speak French?

“Je vais très bien!” The worker steals a glance at Lucy before turning her attention back to him with a smile. “Je vois que vous avez apporté une amie avec vous aujourd'hui!”

He grins. “Ouais!” 

The worker holds out her notepad, pen at the ready. “Qu'est-ce que ça sera, monsieur?”

Natsu begins prattling off different words in French, glancing over the menu every now and then. While he speaks, the worker is jotting words on her notepad. Meanwhile, Lucy is enthralled by the fact he apparently speaks fluent French. That is news to her. Rather exciting news even though she cannot understand him. 

The worker looks at Lucy. “Et pour vous?”

She freezes up, unsure what to say. Lucy desperately looks at Natsu for help. 

He merely laughs before looking at the worker. “Elle ne comprend pas le français.”

“And you?” the worker asks, switching to English. “What would you like?”

Lucy sighs in relief that she can understand her, but now she is unsure what she wants. “Um…” She looks over the menu, feeling slightly overwhelmed by the options. She should have figured out what she wanted rather than gawking at Natsu while he spoke French. 

“Psst, I totally got a bowl of onion soup,” Natsu stage whispers to her. “And a ham baguette sandwich with Swiss cheese and dressing that’s toasted to perfection.” 

“Oo, that sounds good.” 

Natsu looks look at the worker. “Pour deux, s'il vous plaît.”

The worker nods. “Bien sûr!” So she gets to work on preparing the two bowls of soup. 

Natsu grabs two trays for them to use and the appropriate silverware they will need. 

Delicious looking soup is presented in bowls and placed on the counter by the worker. “Cheese or croutons for your soups?”

“Both for me,” Natsu replies, moving a bowl onto Lucy’s tray before his own. 

“Just cheese please,” Lucy answers. 

They are given plastic cups of what they asked for. Once they place their order for drinks, the worker rings up the total. Natsu is already holding out cash before Lucy can even open her wallet. 

“Oh, I’m paying for me,” Lucy says. 

“Nope,” is all Natsu says, not even looking at her. 

The worker settles with taking the cash from him. 

Lucy looks at Natsu. “I’m serious. This isn’t like bowling where you paid for everything.”

“Well, I made it into the building last so that means I pay.” 

She puffs her cheeks out, already putting her wallet away since she knows she lost this round. “That isn’t fair at all.”

He chuckles. “I know, tell me about it.” Slipping his change into his pocket, Natsu grabs his tray. “C’mon, let’s sit down.”

Lucy grabs her own tray, dreading the fact she might spill the hot soup. “Wait, what about the rest of our food?” she inquires. “Do we have to get it when it’s finished?”

“Somebody will bring it out to us.” He goes right towards an empty table by the flames. “I like being by the fireplace. My favorite spot in the entire place.”

With the fire’s warmth to her left and a portion of the wall made of mirrors behind her, Lucy sits across from Natsu. As soon as he sets down his tray, he gasps. “I forgot ’em!” 

She starts to panic. “What did you forget?”

“The roses!” 

Now she is confused. “Roses… ?”

He runs both of his hands through his hair. “Gah, I totally forgot to bring ’em!” He groans. “I had ’em on the counter all ready to go and everything. Then things kept happening one after another–”

“It’s all right, Natsu,” Lucy says, hoping to calm him down. 

He looks at her with a frown. “But I wanted things to be great for this date. I had to keep pushing back the time and then I forgot the roses at the house.”

“I guess we’ll just have to go there to watch a movie or something when we finish eating…” she muses, sprinkling in some cheese into her soup while moving it around with a spoon. 

His face goes blank for a moment before he lights up with a smile. “That’s a great idea, Luce!” 

“Now that we have plans for after this, how fluent in French are you?” she inquires to strike up another conversation. 

He flashes her a toothy grin, adding some croutons and cheese to his soup. “Je parle couramment français.”

“Show off,” she mutters, feeling utterly lost.

He chuckles before speaking in English. “I grew up learning it and studied more in high school. Grandeeney has a French background, and our family has been to France a lot of times. Every other year we go during the summer for a week or so.”

Lucy smiles. “That’s pretty awesome! Are you going there this year?”

He grins. “Yep!”

“I bet you’re looking forward to it.” 

“Oh, yeah!” 

Bringing a spoonful to her mouth, Lucy blows on it before taking her first bite. 

Of course, Natsu is watching her just so he can see her reaction. 

Normally she is not one for liking onions, but she absolutely loves them in this form. “It’s really good!” 

“Gets even better when you dip your sandwich into it. So don’t eat it all now.”

Her eyes light up at the thought. “We don’t have to wait much longer for them to be ready, right?”

Natsu cracks up. “Soon enough, Luce. Soon enough.”

x-X-x

By now, Lucy has finished half of her meal while Natsu is nearly done with his. She has been doing her best to ignore a group of three girls who are sitting at a nearby table. Not once have they attempted to be discreet in the slightest while they have been pointing and looking at Natsu while giggling. Although, Lucy is slightly surprised he has not done a thing to acknowledge a single one of their presences. 

“And that’s why his name’s Happy!” Natsu finishes. 

Lucy laughs. “It’s a good name for him.” 

His eyes flicker over her remaining food. “Do you want me to grab you to-go containers? I don’t think you’ve touched your food for a bit now.”

“It’s so good, believe me, but I’m really full.” 

“I’ll grab you boxes and then we can skedaddle.”

Lucy snorts. “Who even uses that word anymore?”

“Clearlyyy I do.” Then Natsu stands up and walks away. 

She watches him go before she notices the trio of girls is watching him as well. Once he passes by, they go into a fit of giggles and chatter excitedly among themselves. Lucy grabs her drink and sips the clear bubbly liquid. So maybe she is a little jealous that he is receiving attention from them. On the plus side, at least he has not shown interest in one of the girls. 

Lucy is so caught up in her thoughts that she does not even notice Natsu return until he is sitting back down in front of her. He holds out two different containers for her sandwich and soup. “Here you go.”

“Thank you.” She gets to work on packing away her food, slightly eager to finish it the next time she is hungry. 

When she finishes, Natsu rises to his feet and holds an arm out. “Mademoiselle.”

With a small smile, Lucy stands up and links it with one of her own arms. “I call dibs on picking what movie we watch by the way.”

He groans dramatically. “Just nothing sad. Promise?”

“Promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: I have been wanting to update this for days, but work has been hella busy! Been working 6 days a week recently annnnnd longer hours :P Anyways. I’ve wanted to go to La Chatelaine for a while now AND THE BOYFRIEND TOTALLY TOOK ME THERE FOR DINNER THE EVENING I WROTE MOST OF THIS CHAPTER. I was sooo into writing this chapter with fresh inspiration!! :D And Natsu was totally able to show off his bilingual skills to Lucy XD
> 
> AN Part 2: I literally used Google Translate for the translations. I put them below in case y’all don’t wanna be left in the dark like Lucy XD Edit: A user by tchaymz from AO3 helped with translations since I had some things incorrect!
> 
> Natsu: Mademoiselle. = Miss.
> 
> Worker: Bonjour! = Hello!
> 
> Natsu: Bonjour! Comment allez-vous aujourd’hui? = Hello! How are you today?
> 
> Worker: Je vais très bien! = I am wonderful!
> 
> Worker: Je vois que vous avez apporté une amie avec vous aujourd'hui! = I see you brought a friend with you today!
> 
> Natsu: Ouais! = Yep! 
> 
> Worker: Qu'est-ce que ça sera, monsieur? = What will it be, mister?
> 
> Worker: Et pour vous? = And for you?
> 
> Natsu: Elle ne comprend pas le français. = She doesn’t understand French. 
> 
> Natsu: Pour deux, s'il vous plaît. = For two, please.
> 
> Worker: Bien sûr! = Of course!
> 
> Natsu: Je parle couramment français. = I speak French fluently.
> 
> Natsu: Mademoiselle. = Miss.


	9. Chapter 9

At the Dragneel home, the duo is nearing the end of Guardians of the Galaxy. Lucy chose it since she figured it will have enough action and humor in it for Natsu. The two are happily curled up on the couch while Happy is napping on her lap. 

Natsu prods her with a finger and says with controlled excitement. “You’re gonna like this scene coming up.”

“B-but Groot…” she whimpers. 

“I’m home!” Wendy announces as she makes her way through the front door. 

“We’re in here!” Natsu calls. 

With some shopping bags in hand, Wendy strolls into the family room. “Hey, Natsu loves this movie.”

“You’re just in time for the dance off!” he says. 

She laughs, taking a seat and setting her bags down. “This movie–”

Natsu puts a finger to his lips, eyes glued to the TV screen. “Shh!” 

It is not long before Lucy finds herself cheering up at what the actors are doing on screen. It is rather funny. The rest of the movie is not bad either and it is obvious to see more is to come when the credits start rolling. 

“I still can’t believe you’ve never seen that movie before,” Natsu comments. 

Lucy shrugs. “It’s not what I normally like to watch.”

“What do you like?” Wendy inquires. 

“Horror,” she replies. 

Natsu deadpans. “Huh?”

“I like horror. And thriller. Psychological, too.” Lucy grins. “Maybe a mix of all three of them.”

Wendy laughs. “Natsu absolutely hates movies like that!” 

“It’s because I’d rather watch something funny!” he says to defend himself. 

“Not because he had nightmares of The Sixth Sense when he saw it when he was ten,” Wendy stage whispers to Lucy.

“Ten?” she snorts. 

“So where have you been?” Natsu asks Wendy, changing the subject. 

“Oh, I was shopping with some friends for my birthday!” 

“That sounds like fun,” Lucy comments. 

Wendy nods. “I’m glad we all were able to go and spend time together.” 

“Didja get that necklace while shopping?” Natsu inquires. 

Lucy looks at the piece of jewelry around her neck. On a silver chain is a blue cat-like piece that is less than an inch long. “It’s pretty!” she compliments. 

“Thank you.” Wendy softly smiles. “I like it, too.”

“So didja get it while shopping?” Natsu asks again since she did not answer him. 

“A friend gave it to me as a birthday gift,” she replies. 

“Which friend?”

“A friend.”

Lucy feels somewhat out of the loop. She has no idea why Natsu is being so relentless about learning about the necklace’s origins. Maybe it is a sibling thing the two share and she does not understand because she is an only child. 

Natsu smiles smugly. “I’ll let Romeo know he did a good job.” 

Because of his words, Wendy’s cheeks turn red. “Why would you do that… ?” she mumbles. 

Now Lucy is catching on. It is blatantly obvious Romeo is a crush of hers. And clearly Natsu helped him out.

“Oh, c’mon, Wendy,” Natsu says. “It’s obvious he likes you and you like him. I’m surprised you guys haven’t started dating by now.”

“That’s big talk coming from you,” she points out.

Natsu blinks, having not expected their conversation to make a turn like this. “Me?”

“Why aren’t you and your crush dating yet?” Wendy asks, turning the tables on him. “I’m surprised you two haven’t started dating by now.”

Lucy feels awkward. Has she been reading Natsu wrong this entire time? She thinks they might have something and are working towards being a couple. Is there a possibility he only wants to remain friends? Her mind races. But then why did he get her a bouquet of seven roses with baby’s breath? That has to mean something, right?

“Hey, I’m working on it!” Natsu says, cheeks beginning to turn pink. 

That is what does it for Lucy. “Well, I think it’s time I get going.”

Natsu immediately looks at her. “Now?”

“I do have some work to do.”

His face falls. “Oh.”

“I did have fun though.” Lucy smiles a little it. “Thank you for everything.”

“You’re welcome, Luce!” 

x-X-x

Rather than writing like Lucy originally planned on, writer’ block is taking a heavy toll on her. Once again, she looks away from the screen to stare at the bouquet, the main source of her distraction. She is still trying to wrap her mind around Natsu and the roses. Is it normal for a friend to give their friend a bouquet of seven roses? Especially after knowing them for less than a week?

Lucy’s gaze returns to the word document opened on her laptop. She has failed miserably at brainstorming what she wants for her next novel. Elvina ended in a way she could possibly write a sequel, but she is quite happy at not continuing it because of how it ended. She also has a couple of other ideas she believes her readers will find interesting. 

Suddenly, Lucy’s phone goes off because of a text. She sees Natsu’s name pop up on the screen. She bites her lip as she reaches for her phone to read the message. 

Natsu: So how are things going for you, Luce?

This is the third text in two hours that he has sent that she has not responded to. She feels like a reply from her will be weird and not a typical Lucy text. 

She sighs loudly and starts talking to herself. “Ugh, what am I supposed to do? I like him, but he has a crush.” Lucy huffs and leans back on her couch, giving up on writing for now. “But why did he get me roses if he has a crush? And why have we gone on two dates so far? That makes no sense.”

She looks back at the roses, feeling bittersweet about them. “What if there is me and someone else he is choosing between? Maybe he’s playing the field to figure out which one he wants to date?” Lucy thinks back to what Wendy said. “Wendy is probably voting on Natsu’s crush.”

Groaning, she rubs her face with both of her hands. Maybe her next novel will involve a female protagonist who is facing problems because of her confusing male romantic interest. She can probably put a comical twist on the matter so her readers can enjoy it at least. At least her novel can have a happy ending…

Lucy checks the time on her phone, realizing it is after ten o’clock. Too bad she is not tired or she would try going to sleep. “Maybe a shower will help…” 

x-X-x

Now that she is all squeaky clean, Lucy feels absolutely refreshed. She is now wearing blue pajamas so she will be ready for bed when she finally does go to bed. Just as she sits down with her laptop, there is a knock on her apartment door. Surprised that someone is knocking this late at night, she looks over at before standing up. “Coming!” 

When Lucy unlocks the door and opens it, she is more than surprised to see who is on the other side. 

Natsu flashes her a sheepish grin. “Uh, hiya. I figured you weren’t responding because you were hard at work.” He raises the box from Makarov’s Pizzeria. “I also figured you might be hungry so I gotcha your favorite.”

Her heart melts a little bit because of his sweet actions. 

“But from the look of things, it looks like I interrupted you from going to bed…” he continues. 

Lucy shakes her head. “I was just taking a break from writing.” Then she opens her door some more and steps aside. “I could take a longer break I suppose.”

With a smile on his face, Natsu strolls into her apartment. “Is it just you living here?”

“It’s been that way for a few years now. Ever since I moved out really.” In reality, she is used to being alone. Her father buried himself in his work and left Lucy in the care of the maids and butlers. Over time, they became less and less involved with her since she was getting older. 

“Doesn’t it get kinda lonely?”

“Sometimes,” she admits. “Leaving the TV or music on helps though.”

Natsu sets the pizza box down on the kitchen table and turns to face her. “You don’t have a pet or anything to keep you company?”

She shakes her head. “I’ve never had a pet.”

He looks surprised. “Really? Like ever?”

“Not even a pet rock.” Lucy busies herself with getting two plates from the cupboard. 

“Hey, Luce?”

She walks towards him with the plates. “Yes?”

Natsu studies her carefully. “Are you okay?”

She is caught off-guard from the question. “What?”

“You seem a little off. Like you’ve been off since you left the house.”

“I’m fine.”

Natsu arches his eyebrows. 

Lucy sets the plates down. “I’m serious.” Then she smiles. “And thank you for the pizza.”

Smiling, he flips the lid open. “Can’t thank me now. You haven’t had a slice yet.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: I AM SO SORRY FOR THE LACK OF UPDATING D: Work has been slammed more so than usual and there was a family emergency. Things should be calming down for me (even if it’s just a little bit) which means I should have more time to write! It feels like it’s been forever since I’ve updated and I hope this doesn’t happen again soon!
> 
> A/N Part 2: For Wendy’s necklace charm, just imagine it’s the Cait Shelter’s symbol! I couldn’t think of what else and just decided to go with it since nothing else came to mind :P Also, no spoilers, but I’m pretttttttttttttttttttty sure y’all are gonna like what I have planned for the next chapter :D Make sure to stick around!!


	10. Chapter 10

It is well past two in the morning now and Natsu is still over. Lucy is not sure how the two of them ended up snuggling together on the couch, watching whatever is on TV. The nearly empty pizza box with cold slices is on the nearby table, completely forgotten since the duo is full. 

“Ugh, I should probably get going,” Natsu finally says. “I got work tomorrow.”

Lucy lifts her head off of his chest so she can look at him. She studies him carefully. “Are you going to be okay to drive?”

“I’m getting a bit sleepy, but I’ll be good.”

“Text me when you get home so I know you made it.”

Natsu chuckles. “Will do.”

Every time Lucy has thought about asking Natsu a certain simple question, she has chickened out. She is dying to ask him since they first sat down, but she is not sure if she wants to hear his answer. And now he will be leaving soon so her window is closing.

“Something wrong?” Natsu asks, noticing her staring. 

Shaking her head, Lucy sits up so they can stand. “Never mind.” Then she pats his thigh. “Ready?”

Natsu jumps to his feet and stretches his arms high above his head, clasping his fingers together. “I’m glad we got some more one-on-one time today.”

“Me, too,” Lucy says as they walk together. 

Now the two are standing by her apartment door, and Natsu smiles at her. “Thanks for me having me over, Luce.”

“And thank you for stopping by.” She nods her head towards the coffee table. “And I appreciated the pizza.”

“Hey, no problem.” He flashes her a grin. “We’ll hafta do that again.”

Her heart squeezes. Of course, she will love for that to happen, but she is not sure if it will. “I guess we’ll have to see.”

Natsu places a hand on the door handle and opens it. 

Lucy looks down at her feet just so she can avoid looking at his face. “Hey, Natsu?”

He stops opening the door and looks at her. “Yeah?”

“Can I ask you something?”

He chuckles. “Aren’t you asking me something right now?”

She takes a deep breath. “Why are you here?”

“Whatcha mean?”

“Why are you here and not with your crush?”

Natsu’s body stiffens at the last word that leaves her mouth.

“The crush you and Wendy were talking about earlier,” Lucy clarifies due to his lack of speaking. 

“Uh, haha, funny”-he clears his throat due to his cracking voice-“funny story ’bout that…”

She finally looks up at him. “If you like her then why aren’t you with her?”

“My crush. Yeah, I like my crush. I’m working at spending time with her. I mean, she’s a great person after all.” He cracks a smile. “Even if she’s a lil’ bit of a weirdo. But that’s totally a-okay. Just adds to her charm.”

Lucy perks up at the last part. Along with Luce, Natsu calls her that all of the time. “Weirdo?” she finds herself asking. 

He rubs the back of his neck. “So there’s a thing. And the thing is I haven’t wanted to date anybody else before I met her. She just, I dunno, caught my interest. In a really good way.” He smiles as he fondly remembers seeing her for the first time. “Maybe it was her jammies…”

Recalling how embarrassed she felt in that specific moment in time, Lucy blushes as she remembers their encounter. She folds her arms underneath her chest. “I bet she was comfortable at least.”

“She can really rock the jammie look,” Natsu says, quickly glancing her up and down. Then his eyes rest on his face and he admits rather sheepishly, “Uh, so there’s another thing. I’m afraid I’m gonna screw things up.”

Lucy merely blinks at him. 

Next thing Natsu knows, he begins to babble, voicing what he has been thinking and feeling. “So my crush is the first girl I’ve liked. Like really liked. The like like level. And I’m just”-his voice falters for a moment-“afraid I’m gonna somehow screw up and make things awkward for her…” 

She is genuinely surprised by what he is saying. “What?”

“What if I say the wrong thing? Or do the wrong thing? I don’t want her to not like me if I screwed up.”

It is easy for Lucy to see how stressed he is about the subject. 

“Take last night for example,” he continues.

Her mind is already racing as she thinks about what happened last night. 

“I walked her out to her car, right? That seemed fine on my part I think. Then after we made plans to see each other the next day, we ended up hugging. Hugging.” Natsu runs both hands through his hair, making it stick up even more. “But am I always supposed to hug her when we say goodbye? I highly doubt she’d like a high-five though. But what about kissing? Would she like that or is kissing too soon considering we’ve only known about–”

Lucy ends up cupping the sides of his face and forces him to focus on her. “I’m sure she’d like that,” she whispers. 

His green eyes slowly grow wide as he processes her words. “Oh…” Natsu wets his lips with his tongue. “Well, do you know if she’d want me to kiss her or her kiss me?”

“I’m sure she doesn’t have a preference,” she replies softly. 

Pink begins to tint his cheeks. “Uh, how does she feel about me never kissing anybody before? I don’t have experience in that department.”

“She hasn’t either so she won’t be the judging type.”

Ever so carefully, Natsu begins to lean forward. 

Suddenly, his phone goes off because of an incoming call. The two jump apart at the assigned tune for the contact: “The Imperial March”

“What could he possibly want at this hour?” he grumbles as he fishes his phone out of his pocket. He accepts the call and holds his phone up to his right ear. “Whatcha want, old man?” His eyes flicker over to Lucy. “Yeah, I’m still here. Just getting ready to leave.” He pauses. “Hey, you’re the one who interrupted me from leaving! Don’t forget that you called me!” 

Lucy giggles at his frustration. Of course, Igneel is giving him a hard time. That is just his way of showing he cares for his son. 

“Leave the front door unlocked when you go to bed,” Natsu continues. “I’ll be home soon.” He pauses yet again. “Yeah, okay. I’ll see you in the morning. Bye, old man.” Then he mumbles a quick “love you, too” before hanging up. After he slips his phone away, he looks at her. “Where were we?”

She remembers what they were attempting before they were interrupted and she blushes. Lucy becomes flustered. “We were, um, going to–”

Natsu cracks up and hugs her tightly. “You’re so cute.” Then he laughs and smooches the top of her head. “Cute as fuck actually.”

Embarrassment washes over her and she feels her ears heat up. Her hands move to the front of his shirt and grab fistfuls of it. “No more talking for you.”

He waggles his eyebrows even though she cannot see him. “Oh, you want me to do something else with my lips instead?”

Lucy’s grip on him tightens. “That wasn’t funny.”

“Oh, c’mon, Luce. That was pretty funny.”

She peeks up at him. “Not even a little.”

He gapes like a fish at her. “Whaaat? I’m hilarious.”

“In your dreams,” she scoffs, rolling her eyes. 

In a quick movement, Natsu’s face is right next to hers. 

Lucy squeaks in shock, having not expected such close proximity so quickly. “Wh-what are you doing?”

He blinks in surprise. “Huh?”

“You’re close.”

“I mean, how else are we s’posed to kiss?”

“Oh. R-right.” She gains some confidence. “Let your dad know he killed the mood we had before.”

He snorts. “Ohhh, don’t worry. I’ll be sure to do that.”

“Don’t let him off easy.”

“Aye, sir.”

Lucy chuckles. “You’re a weirdo.”

“Hey, you’re the obvious weirdo here.”

“Am not.”

“Weirdo says what.”

“What?”

Natsu cackles. “You fell for it!” 

Lucy puffs her cheeks out. “That wasn’t funny.”

“Oh, c’mon. That was pretty funny.”

Déjà vu washes over her. “Not even a little. And before you say it, no, you’re not hilarious.”

He arches his eyebrows at her. “Then what am I?”

“Cute,” she admits.

“Look who’s talking.” Then his voice drops above a whisper. “Hey, Luce?” 

“Yes?” she asks softly. 

“Can I… ?” But his voice trails off. He leans in to press his warm lips against her own.

Lucy’s eyes flutter shut as butterflies zoom around her stomach. She tugs on his shirt so he can be closer to her yet. She even tilts her head more to her right so they can kiss just a little bit better.

The kiss is short lived before Natsu is the first to pull away. “You good?” he asks, a lazy grin now on his lips.

“Great,” she replies breathlessly. 

He grins. “Well, that’s great. You seemed a bit nervous before.”

“You snapped me out of it.”

“Had to make sure you were loosey-goosey before the kiss.”

She cracks a grin. “You did a good job with that.”

A silence falls over the two as they simply stare at one another. 

“Uh, I guess it’s time I got going,” Natsu says after a moment. 

Lucy nods in agreement. “Text me when you get home.”

“Night, Luce.”

She smiles at him. “Goodnight, Natsu.”

“Sweet dreams.”

“You, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: Ayyyyyy, I got around to updating even though it’s like 4 am :P Life has been a wee bit calmer since the studio is closed until the first of the year and the family emergency has since passed (thanks for the thoughts by the way!)
> 
> A/N Part 2: Because y’all have been patient with me, NaLu had their first kiss in this fic! More is to come for sure!! :)
> 
> A/N Part 3: So I’ve been so occupied with life that I haven’t paid much attention to the attention this fic has received AND ASDFGHJKL. CLOSE TO 60 KUDOS? 10 BOOKMARKS?? THANK YOU ALL SOOOOOOO VERY MUCH! I APPRECIATE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM SO VERY MUCH!!
> 
> A/N Part 4: I’ve decided 2016 will be the year I finally complete a person work of mine! I typically bounce back and forth between so many ideas, but I’ve narrowed it down to one. So I will be working on it as well as the ongoing fanfics I have!


	11. Chapter 11

The next morning, Lucy is casually munching on her favorite brand of cereal while watching her guilty pleasure, Say Yes to the Dress. She does not even have a boyfriend yet, but she loves this series along with the other version. Her routine is interrupted by an incoming phone call. She grabs her nearby cell phone and smiles when she sees it is Natsu. She answers the call and holds her phone up to her right ear. “Hello.”

“Hiya, Luce,” he greets warmly. “Do you have plans for later?”

“I planned on writing,” Lucy pauses the recorded episode so she can hear better and not miss what is happening. “Why do you ask?”

“Do you wanna go on a double date with me and two friends? It’d be after I get off at four.”

“Ooo, which friends?” she inquires, picturing Levy and Gajeel in her head. 

“Ice Princess and his girlfriend.”

She remembers him mentioning them before. “Oh, the two that are living together.”

“Bingo!”

“What would we do?” Lucy inquires, balancing the bowl on her lap while she twirls around a strand of her hair with her free hand. Is she nervous? Pfft, why would she be? She is only speaking to the guy who kissed her before he left. The same guy who brought over her favorite kind of pizza for just because reasons.

“Just chill at Magnolia Mall,” Natsu answers. “Get some food and shop.” 

“That sounds really nice,” she admits. 

“So you in?”

“Sure, why not?”

Natsu grows excited. “Great! I’ll text Ice Princess so he knows I won’t be third wheeling it.”

She chuckles. “You go and do that.”

“Ugh, so I gotta get back to work, but I’ll get in touch with you later. Sound good, Luce?”

“That sounds good, Natsu.”

“Okay, byeee!” 

“Bye!” 

With that, Natsu ends the call. 

Lucy lowers her phone and smiles down at it. “You’re such a weirdo…”

So it looks like she will have to work on her latest novel before she goes out to have fun later. At least she has ideas to work with and characters to design and name. 

x-X-x

Lucy is proud of what she accomplished before she left her apartment to drive over to the mall. Just before four o’clock, she is aimlessly walking around. She has no idea what the real names of who she is meeting with are or even what they look like. Lucy tried getting a hold of Natsu so she could get information from him, but he never answered her calls or replied to her texts. It did not even cross her mind to ask him when she spoke with him earlier when he had called her. 

Currently checking her phone, Lucy is somewhat disappointed Natsu has not gotten back with her. She feels helpless because all she can do is wait for him to reply. 

A loud squeal from in front of her interrupts her train of thoughts. Lucy looks up to see a teenage girl standing not too far from her, a huge smile on her face. She has bright chestnut hair pulled into low twintails and bangs that fall above her very dark eyes. A cat bell choker is around her neck and jingles every time she moves. 

“Hello there,” Lucy says, feeling certain this girl knows her. 

“Y-you’re Ashley!” she stutters from excitement. 

As if Lucy can deny it. “It’s true.”

She squeals again. “I’m Millianna and I’m a huge fan! There’s a blog I run about you–” Her eyes grow considerately larger. “Can I get a picture with you? Pleaseee?”

“Sure. I don’t see why not.” Lucy points over to the nearby section of railing that has a gap to display the lower level on the other side. “Let’s step out of the way first.”

With her camera app already pulled up on her phone, Millianna is ready for a selfie. Lucy scooches in so they can fit in the frame and she smiles at the camera. 

“Say kitty!” Millianna says. 

Lucy goes along with it just for kicks. “Kitty!” 

Millianna looks over the photo and bounces up and down, making her bell jingle. “Thank you so much, Ashley!”

“You’re welcome.”

“Is it okay if I ask you questions? Some questions? I promise there won’t be that many!” 

Lucy figures she has some time to burn. “It depends on the questions…”

Millianna squeals in delight before messing with her phone. “I’m gonna to record this before I start. Annnd there we go!” She aims her camera as Lucy. “Okay, first question, what inspired Elvina?”

That is a no brainer. “I wanted something that wasn’t fantasy based like how my other novels have been.”

“Oo, that’s interesting! Wait, do you think you’ll continue that streak with your next novel?”

Feigning innocence, Lucy presses a finger to her chin. “I did miss writing fantasy so maybe I’ll get back to it in the next one.”

“But will Elvina have a sequel?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” she replies honestly. “I’m happy with the way Elvina ended, but I’m sure if something comes to me I’ll roll with it.”

“A lot of my fans are curious to know if Nathaniel is based off your boyfriend or crush?”

“I think Nathaniel is what I’m looking for in a boyfriend. He’s caring and funny.” She chuckles as she thinks of a certain someone with pink here. “He’s a dork, too. Not to mention a big weirdo.”

“Oh, so you aren’t dating anybody?”

“As of now, I’m single.” Lucy dares not breathe a word about Natsu because it is too personal.

“Is there somebody you like?”

“There is, but I won’t talk about them.” Lucy keeps it neutral just so it is vague enough. She even presses a finger to her lips for extra emphasis. “My lips are sealed.”

Millianna bounces on the balls of her feet, causing her bell to jingle even more. “I’m sure the world would love to learn about your crush!” 

“I don’t think I’m ready for the world to learn about my crush!” Lucy jokes. 

“Can I just have one little hint about them?” she begs. 

Lucy has reached her limit. “Unfortunately, I really don’t want to discuss the matter anymore.” She glances past Millianna, pretending she sees someone. “Hey, I think I see my friend so I’m going to get going.”

“B-but I have some more questions,” she whines. 

“I think I’ve answered plenty of your questions,” Lucy points out, trying to treat the matter lightly. 

“Hey, there you are,” an unfamiliar voice says. 

Lucy and Millianna both look over to see a guy standing there, looking at Lucy. His dark hair is a little bit longer than Natsu’s and he has slightly more of a muscular build than him. He has fair skin and dark blue eyes. The guy is wearing a silver sword necklace with a stone set in it and a silver metal bracelet around his right wrist.

“You found me,” Lucy says casually, feigning that she knows who he is. 

“Well, it’s kind of hard when you don’t reply to my texts,” he mentions. 

Lucy chuckles. “I guess that would make things kind of hard.”

The guy jerks his head. “Let’s get going then.”

Lucy takes one last look at Millianna to end things on a positive note. “Thanks again.” Then she walks away with the guy on her right side. 

He raises a hand to point at a nearby clothing store. “The others are in there. I was getting ready to walk inside when I saw you.”

“Wow, great timing on your part,” Lucy says, rolling with what is happening. 

When the duo enters the store, they immediately walk over to the right to get out of view. 

“Do you think she’ll follow you?” the guy asks in a low voice. 

“I hope not,” Lucy replies, beginning to regret agreeing to answer those few questions in the first place. 

The two wait a moment and watch the doors to make sure Millianna does not enter the store. 

“Think we’re safe?” the guy asks after a moment. 

“I think so. I would have guessed that she would have been in by now.” Lucy sighs in relief. “Thank you so much for that save back there.”

“No problem.”

“I didn’t think she was going to get as pushy as she did.”

“What was that even about?”

Lucy waves a hand to brush the thought away. “It wasn’t anything.”

“Hey, do you want me to stick around for a little bit? Just to make sure you’re good?”

“I don’t want to cause you any trouble.”

“No trouble. I’m waiting for people myself.”

“Me, too.”

“Looks like we both beat them here.”

“Even though it was my friend’s idea.”

“Hey, it was my friend’s idea, too…” The guy observes her for a moment. “Natsu.”

She looks over at him, surprised that name left his lips. “You know Natsu?”

“Unfortunately,” he jokes. “Been friends with him since we were little. How do you know him?”

“He delivered pizza to my apartment,” Lucy chuckles, fondly recalling that encounter and what followed after.

The guy is now blatantly staring at her. 

“Are you all right?”

“Lucy?”

She is slightly surprised he knows her name. “That’s me.”

“Wait, what?” He pokes her shoulder with a finger. “You’re actually real?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This double date bit will continue in the next chapter for sure. But I’m sure y’all know who saved Lucy :P Millianna miiiiiight be OC :P Also, this version of her is based off of the Tower of Heaven version. I just needed a “fan” to spot Lucy and I wanted a FT character than a nameless/faceless character.


	12. Chapter 12

Lucy snorts at his reaction to her. “Where you expecting something else?”

“I thought Flame Brain was going to try and pull my leg,” the guy explains. “Like he was going to show up wearing girl clothes to pretend to be you or something.”

She laughs at the mental image that pops up in her mind. “He might be a model, but I doubt he could work my clothes the way I do.”

“That’s the truth.” Then he holds out his right hand. “I’m Gray by the way.”

She takes it. “Lucy.”

He jerks his head towards the doors. “Want to get out of here? I think we’re in the clear now.”

Lucy nods. “Sure. And thanks again.” 

The two leave the store and go the direction Lucy came from, towards the food court down at the other end. 

“I guess it was a good thing I was walking by,” Gray muses. “We ended up meeting.” 

“You’re right! I realized Natsu never told me names or gave me numbers so I couldn’t contact you and your girlfriend that I was here. I tried reaching him on his phone, but he didn’t answer.”

Gray groans. “He’s a real idiot at times.” 

She giggles in agreement. “Although, he’s–” 

“A love rival!” a voice gasps with shock. 

The duo looks over to see a young woman making her way towards them. To go along with her dark sapphire blue eyes, she has pretty blue hair falling in thick beach waves down to her shoulder blades. Her pale figure is slender, but she has curves in the right places.

“Juvia!” Gray says warmly. 

She walks up to him and holds onto his right arm with both of hers, pressing it against her body. She gives Lucy a firm look. “Love Rival cannot have Gray! Gray is with Juvia!” 

And now Lucy has officially met the girlfriend. 

“This is Lucy,” Gray introduces. “She’s Flame Brain’s date today. Lucy, this is Juvia.”

Juvia’s exposure completely changes and now she is all smiles. “It is a pleasure to meet you!” 

Lucy returns the smile. “You, too!” 

“I suppose we are all waiting on Natsu now,” Juvia muses. 

Gray takes out his phone to check the time. “He should be here soon since his shoot is over by now…”

Oh, so he had that kind of work earlier. Lucy originally guessed it was for Makarov’s Pizzeria. 

“Was his shoot not far from here?” Juvia inquires. 

“Not really,” Gray replies, and then he shrugs. “I guess we can chill until then.”

“If he doesn’t get here soon enough, I’m getting food,” Lucy announces. 

“Might as well head to the food court and have him meet us there. I’ll let him know.” Since one arm is still occupied, he only uses his free hand to text. 

Juvia looks at Lucy. “Where does Lucy want to eat at?”

She thinks for a moment since she really is not sure what she wants. She just knows she wants something to eat. “I guess I’ll think about it on the way there.” 

So the three begin to make their way over to the food court. All along the way, Lucy keeps her eyes peeled for Millianna. She really does not want to be ambushed by her or anyone else for that matter. She just wants time to relax and be with the people she just became acquainted with. 

Having decided she is in the mood for subs, Gray and Juvia wait in line with her to get some food as well. Once they have their meals, they choose a spot and sit down to eat. The couple sits on one side of the square table while Lucy is by herself.

Before Lucy can take her first bite of food, someone stops her. 

“Lu Lu!” a familiar voice shouts. 

She cringes at the nickname because there is only one person who calls her that. “Why is he here?” Lucy groans, and looks over. 

Sure enough, Dan Straight is heading right for her with a huge grin on his face. The young man with tanned skin has reddish brown hair and dark eyes. With an arm above his head, he is waving her down in a busy fashion. 

“Who’s that?” Gray asks. 

“Trouble,” Lucy grumbles, setting down her sub. 

“He’s loud,” Juvia comments. 

“He’s probably worse than Natsu…” Lucy comments. 

Gray’s eyes grow wide with surprise. “Worse? How can somebody be worse than–”

“You’re as beautiful as ever, Lu Lu!” Dan compliments, stopping in front of the table. “As beautiful as the starry sky!” 

She sighs, thinking his lines are far too cheesy. “Sure I am…”

Thinking he belongs with them, Dan slides into the free spot next to Lucy that is reserved for Natsu whenever he arrives. He looks at Gray and Juvia who are sitting across from him. “The name’s Dan Straight. Lu Lu is the love of my life and I’m going to marry her someday!” 

Lucy covers her face with a hand. “Not even if you were the last guy on this planet…”

“Uh, do you mind?” Gray asks, coming to the rescue. “We’re trying to eat while we wait on her boyfriend–”

“Boyfriend!” Dan’s jaw drops open before he looks over at her. “Boyfriend?!”

“Yes, boyfriend,” Juvia says to back up her own boyfriend. 

“But, Lu Lu!” Dan places his right hand on her left shoulder. “I thought we–”

A hand appears on his left shoulder and he is jerked back, falling onto the floor. 

“Hiya, Luce!” Natsu greets warmly as though he did nothing wrong. 

Dan jumps to his feet. “What was that for?!”

There is a slight height difference between them so Natsu has to look slightly up at him. He simply shrugs. “You were in my way.”

“From what?!”

“My girlfriend,” he seethes, glowering at him menacingly. 

Dan looks at Lucy before looking back at Natsu. “You’re the boyfriend?!” 

He flashes him a toothy grin and proudly says, “Damn straight!” 

“B-but”-Dan turns to look at Lucy with pleading eyes-“I thought we had something!” 

“The only thing we did have was some classes together,” she informs him. “That’s it.”

No one can hear Dan’s heart break in two, but they do see his eyes grow misty. A second later he becomes a blubbering mess, balling his eyes out. “I’ll al-always be w-waiting for you, Lu Luuu!” He turns to go, leaving a scene in his wake. 

Natsu blinks. “Did that really just happen?”

Lucy waves the thought away. “He’s always like that. He’ll be fine when he sees a girl he can crush on. Give him a minute and he’ll bounce right back.”

Claiming his rightful place, Natsu sits down next to Lucy and slings his right arm over her shoulders. “The gang’s all here now!” 

“How did your shoot go?” Juvia inquires, and then taking a bite of her sub. 

“Not bad,” he replies. “It was slower than I thought.” 

“At least you have the rest of the day off,” Gray points out. 

“And I’m spending it with some awesome people,” he adds. 

Lucy picks up the half of the sub before she slides the other half on the paper towards Natsu. “Sub?”

His face lights up. “Thanks, Luce!” He is already munching away before Lucy has a chance to take a bite of her half. 

“So where do we want to go first when we finish?” Juvia inquires. 

“Is there a place somebody needs to go to?” Gray adds. 

Lucy thinks for a moment. “I’d be up for the bookstore outside of the mall.” 

“Popcorn!” Natsu says randomly. 

Three sets of eyes look at him. “Popcorn?” Gray inquires. 

He nods. “There’s a popcorn vendor on the lower floor. I wanna swing by there so I can get some popcorn.” 

“You want popcorn after having some of a sub?” Lucy questions. 

He does not seem phased in the slightest. “Yeah!” 

Gray rolls his eyes. “Can’t you be normal for once?”

“At least I don’t have your stupid face!” Natsu jokes, being totally off topic. 

One of Gray’s eyes twitch with irritation. “I bet the agency wouldn’t like if I messed up your ugly mug!” 

“No fighting,” Lucy and Juvia both chide at the same time. 

“How did you two even get along as roommates before?” Lucy adds in all seriousness. 

Gray shrugs. “Sometimes I acknowledged his existence.”

“He was pretty easy to ignore,” Natsu replies. 

Juvia giggles at a thought that occurs to her. 

“What’ so funny?” Lucy inquires. 

“They may not get along at times, but they are really good friends,” she replies. “After all, they’ve already agreed to be one another’s best man when they get married!” 

Now the two guys will not even look at each other. 

Lucy giggles. “Well, I think that’s super sweet of them.” 

“Flame Brain will hold up his end of the deal first though,” Gray comments. 

Juvia’s face flushes at his words. “B-but we are not even en-engaged yet!” 

“Yet,” Gray agrees. “But Flame Brain doesn’t even have a girlfriend!” 

“Grr, you wanna go, Ice Princess?” Natsu demands. 

“Bring it, Flame Brain!” Gray challenges. 

Lucy groans. Not once did it cross her mind the double date to even end up this way. Although, she has never been on a double date before so she cannot say much. 

Natsu immediately looks away from Gray, giving Lucy his attention. “Everything okay?”

Juvia gasps, hands covering her mouth, while Gray’s jaw drops open. 

“What’s wrong?” Lucy asks, wondering what is happening with the couple. 

“He stopped arguing with me,” Gray says matter-of-factly. 

“Annnd?” Natsu urges. 

“You always fight with my darling Gray,” Juvia states. “You never let yourself become distracted when you both are arguing with each other.”

Natsu shrugs it off. “I had to make sure Luce was okay.”

She cannot help, but smile at his thoughtfulness. “You’re sweet.”

He flashes her a grin. 

The couple across from them looks at each other to talk, not even bothering to keep their voices down “She has to be a witch,” Gray begins. “She must have put some kind of spell on him.”

“Or maybe she is a siren and has enchanted him!” Juvia suggests. 

Lucy laughs at their imagination. “I’m just a human, guys.”

“You must be a special human then,” Gray comments. 

“Very special,” Juvia adds. 

Unbeknownst to the others, Natsu laces the fingers of his right hand with her left that has been on her lap. He gives her a little squeeze. “It doesn’t hurt that she’s cute as fuck, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: This chapter was kinda filled with puns… I might be watching too much Miraculous Ladybug and Chat has rubbed off on me XD But y’all had a little Dan action! I thought about having Loke, buuuuuuut he is gonna pop up later! As of now, not sure if the date will continue on in the next chapter since I’m happy with the way things ended. I do have a plan though! *cue evil laughter*
> 
> A/N Part 2: I’m sooooo excited since I’ll be attending Ohayocon this coming weekend!! I’ll be cosplaying as Asuna from SAO (and the boyfriend will be Kirito!) :D If someone is going and you happen to see me, feel free to say hi! Also, I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to post another chapter (same goes for MTAP) until after con, but make sure to stay tuned for more!!


	13. Chapter 13

The group of four is now walking around the mall know, drifting from store to store when one of them sees something they like. When Lucy finishes telling Natsu of how she and Gray first met, he cracks up. “Bwahaha, I bet you felt so stupid!”

Gray merely rolls his eyes, mumbling a curse under his breath.

From laughing so hard, Natsu’s face is now a bright shade of red. “And you”-he wheezes-“poked her!”

“We get it, Flame Brain,” Gray grumbles. 

Natsu wipes away a tear with his free hand since his other is preoccupied with carrying Lucy’s shopping bags. “Just wait until I tell Lug Nuts!” 

“Wait, he met Lucy before me?” Gray asks. 

“I met Gajeel and Levy at Wendy’s birthday party over the weekend,” Lucy replies. 

Gray looks taken back. “Whoa, they met her before me? But I’m your best friend!” 

“Hey, when I tried telling you about Luce from the start you didn’t believe me!” Natsu points out. 

“First of all, it was weird you even showed interest in some hot girl you met because of a pizza delivery,” Gray says to defend himself. “And then the next day you guys went on a date to Fairy Tail. Like, how probable was that?”

“Natsu even sent a photo of them!” Juvia adds.

“Which she totally could have been some random girl–” Gray begins. 

“But I wasn’t,” Lucy interrupts with a playful grin. 

“Yeah, you tell him, Luce!” Natsu cheers. 

She giggles at him. 

“So why Lucy?” Gray asks suddenly. 

Natsu blinks. “Huh?”

“Why Lucy?” he repeats. “You were never interested in girls before her.”

“Luce changed that.” Then Natsu chuckles. “She changed all of that actually.” 

She looks down at her feet, attempting to hide her pink cheeks as her hair acts like a curtain to block the view of her face. 

As though it is a natural thing for him to do, Natsu slips his left hand into Lucy’s right, lacing his fingers with hers. “It takes a special weirdo to change that I guess,” he jokes, adding humor in a typical Natsu fashion. 

“Hey!” Lucy defensively, shooting him a look. 

He simply laughs at her reaction.

“So where do we go next?” Juvia inquires, changing the topic. 

“How about the book store?” Natsu suggesting, remembering it is on Lucy’s list. 

Gray nods. “I’m game.” 

“Then let’s go!” Natsu begins tugging Lucy along, causing Gray and Juvia to keep up with them. 

No one slows down until they reach Vermilion, the nation’s largest and most popular retail bookseller. Gray holds the door open for everyone before bringing up the rear. 

“What floor?” Natsu asks, looking at Lucy. 

“Top,” she replies, knowing the layout like the back of her hand.

So they make their way over to the escalator that will lead them upstairs. 

Natsu points a finger. “Luce, look!”

She sees what he is pointing at and smiles. Next to the escalator is a promotional stand with many copies of Elvina. There are some spaces from where people have picked up their own copy. 

Juvia gasps happily, grabbing one of the hardcovers for herself. “Juvia can finally have her own copy!” Then she leads the way up the escalator, her boyfriend right behind her. 

With Natsu behind her, Lucy steps up after Gray when curiosity gets the better of her. “Do you like the author, Juvia?”

“She owns every novel by the author,” Gray replies for her. “Every single one.” 

Squeezing the novel against her chest, Juvia looks back at Lucy as her face lights up. “Juvia thinks Ashely is a wonderful author! Juvia wishes to meet her someday!” 

Natsu stifles a laugh. “She’s closer than you th–”

Lucy subtly elbows his side, glad neither Gray or Juvia noticed what she just did. 

Then Juvia’s face falls. “Ashley had a book signing, but Juvia had work that she could not get out of…” 

“Next time,” Gray says to cheer up his girlfriend. 

She nods. “Next time for sure!” 

Lucy cannot help but smile. Juvia seems to be the type of fan she loves meeting at book signings and the like. Although, she is a little curious that Juvia has yet to mention the striking resemblance Lucy shares with Ashley. After all, they are the same person. 

The group reaches the top floor and Lucy leads the way to the over to the section she wants. 

“Paranormal romance?” Gray questions, not sounding amused. 

“Oh, hush,” Lucy says, her eyes scanning the wall of novels. It is possible for her to spend hours in a bookstore, but she does not want to take up everyone’s time. 

“Luce, do you read books with dragons in them?” Natsu asks, trying to contain his excitement. 

She thinks for a moment. “There’s one that I really like. It’s by Sophie Jordan–”

Her own ringing cell phone interrupts her. “Whoops, I forgot to silence it.” Lucy pulls out her phone and reads the name on the screen. “Actually, I have to take this…”

“By all means,” Gray says. 

Lucy steps to the side and answers the call, holding her phone up to her right ear. “Hello, Yukino.”

“Do you have a boyfriend?” she squeals, unable to contain her excitement. 

Lucy steals a quick glance at Natsu. “Uh, boyfriend?”

“Yes!” she gushes. “Do you have one? Ooo, you have to tell me how long you two have been dating!” 

“I don’t have a boyfriend though.” She decides to leave out the part that she does not have a boyfriend just yet. 

Yukino’s excitement dies down. “Really?”

“Really.” Then Lucy chuckles. “Where did you get that idea from even?”

“A blogger posted a video and a guy walked away with you at the end. He easily could have passed as your boyfriend!”

“Wh-what?” Lucy gasps, her heart skipping a beat. 

“Everything okay, Luce?” Natsu asks, noticing her distress. 

She focuses on Yukino’s words instead of replying to him. 

“Marvelous Millianna is the most popular Ashley blogger and she posted a video not too long ago. It was a little interview with you, but more importantly, there was a guy at the end. He totally whisked you away from Millianna!”

Lucy groans, clamping her eyes closed. “I’m sure someone is bound to recognize him eventually…” 

“So who is he?” 

“A friend.” 

“Not the crush you were talking about during the interview?”

“No.”

“Is he a potential crush?”

“He already has a sweet girlfriend.” 

“Oh.” 

Lucy pinches the bridge of her nose with her free hand as she thinks. “I’ve got to deal with this quickly, huh?”

“It’ll be best to put the rumors to rest as quickly as you can. Fans already have theories about who the guy is.” 

“He’s just a friend,” Lucy says defensively. 

“But they don’t know that,” Yukino points out. “They think he is your crush or a secret boyfriend.” 

“That’s totally far-fetched,” she scoffs. 

“But they don’t know that. Hence the rumors.” 

Lucy thinks for a moment. “I’ll find a way to address the matter. I have to make an official announcement or something.” 

“Let me know if you need help!” 

She softly smiles, glad she has a supportive friend. “Thank you, Yukino.”

“Bye, Lucy!” 

“Bye!” 

Lucy ends the call and slips her phone away, taking a deep breath. She looks over at her friends to discover they are all silently staring at her. She becomes frazzled at the attention she has been receiving without noticing any of it. “Uh, that was-How long have you guys been watching?”

“Everything okay, Luce?” Natsu repeats, genuinely worried about her. 

“It’s fine,” she sighs. “Nothing I can’t handle.” 

“Do you need help with something?” Gray asks. 

She finds it ironic that he is the one offering help when he helped her in the first place with Millianna. “Unfortunately, I think I have to end our double date earlier than planned.”

“Luce?” Natsu still is trying to grasp what is happening. 

“It’s, uh, work related,” she says, wanting to be vague about things.

“Is it bad?” Juvia questions. 

“It’s more annoying than bad,” Lucy replies honestly. Then a thought occurs to her. Should she inform Gray and Juvia about the situation? She does not want them blindsided when someone connected to them watches the video and starts asking question. “Actually, there’s more to it than that…” 

The three look utterly confused. 

“Juvia, can I see that book?” Lucy asks, walking over to her. 

With a nod, she holds out the copy of Elvina for her. 

Lucy takes it and opens it to the back cover, holding it up to her face. It is easy to compare her face to the small picture. 

Juvia is the first to react when he eyes grow wide. “A-Ashley… ?” She gasps loudly. “Juvia thought that perhaps Lucy shares a big resemblance to Ashley! Juvia never would have thought she is actually her!”

“Guess again,” Natsu cackles, arms crossed over his chest. 

Gray looks absolutely dumbfounded. “The girl you happen to fall for not only is real, but is a famous author under a penname?” 

“Shhh,” Lucy chides, hoping no one overheard him. She closes the book and holds it for Juvia, but looks at Gray. “And right now there is some trouble because you helped me earlier.”

“Me?” Gray asks, pointing to himself. 

“The girl that was interviewing me earlier posted that video,” Lucy begins to explain. “She was still rolling when you came by and got me away from her.”

Gray still has yet to connect the dots. “Annd… ?”

“Fans are starting to spread rumors and theories that you’re my crush I talked about in the interview or you’re my boyfriend,” Lucy continues. 

“Crush?” Natsu asks, only focusing on that. He seems rather excited that she openly admitted it in an interview even though she did not name a name.

Juvia looks back and forth between her boyfriend and Lucy. “B-but Gray is dating Juvia!”

“But other people don’t know that,” Lucy points out. 

“So make a counter video,” Natsu suggests, looking at her. 

Three sets of eyes look at him. 

He shrugs off the attention before continuing. “Have somebody film you talking about Milli’s video and stopping the rumors. You can even have Ice Princess in it so he can back you up.”

“Did you… just come up with a really good idea?” Gray asks with disbelief. 

“Hey!” Natsu says, taking offense. 

Lucy begins smiling from ear to ear. “Natsu, you’re a genius!” 

He looks pretty smug with himself. “Thanks, Luce.” 

“Will Lucy do the video now?” Juvia inquires. 

She looks at Gray. “Are you up for it?”

He nods. “Let’s do it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: Ayyy, y’all got some minor drama in this chapter (a one that’s a wee bit longer than usual!). It’ll be easy to resolve though :P And good call on those who thought the video would come back *pats on the back* 
> 
> A/N Part 2: OHAYOCON WAS SO MUCH FUN. OMG. I really enjoyed myself! Best Ohayocon yet for me! And now that I’m back I was able to update, woo~ 
> 
> A/N Part 3: Just so share some joy of mine, two Thursdays ago (on Pre Ohayocon Day for me) my boyfriend had my friends and my boss work together behind my back. Cute/romantic story short, he proposed and we’re engaged now! So that was a great way to kick off Ohayocon for me!! :D


	14. Chapter 14

Not wanting to be in anyone’s way, Lucy and Gray have their backs to a corner. Juvia is standing next to Natsu who has Lucy’s phone aimed at the pair in the corner. 

“Annnd… action!” Natsu cues. 

Lucy waves at the camera, smiling a little. “Hey, guys! Ashley here with a little message just to clear some things up. I’m sure many of you have seen the video interview that Marvelous Millianna posted to her blog. I just want to clarify that Gray”-she motions to him with a hand-“and I have no romantic affiliation with each other.”

“We’re just friends,” Gray adds to support her statement. “Ashley is great and all, but I already have a girlfriend who I love and care about.”

Juvia swoons a little and claps her hands together in front of her chest, overjoyed to hear him talk about her like that. 

“He is not my crush or my boyfriend,” Lucy clarifies for good measure. Then she smiles and waves one last time. “Thanks for watching. Bye for now!” 

Natsu stops the recording. “That’s a wrap, everybody!” 

Lucy looks at Gray. “Not bad for one take.”

He holds up a hand for her. “That’s because we’re awesome.” 

The two have a celebratory high-five before Lucy walks over to Natsu, taking her phone from him. “Thank you for that.” 

He smiles at her. “No problem.”

She busies herself with the video, knowing she needs to post it to her multiple social media accounts. A few minutes later, she texts Yukino to inform her that the matter should be taken care of. When Lucy is finished, she sighs in relief. “That should solve things.” 

Juvia nods. “Juvia hope so!”

Lucy looks at Gray. “I just hope your friends who saw Millianna’s video don’t get up in your face about it.” 

He merely shrugs. “If they know me then they won’t believe any of the rumors. They might think it’s cool that I know you though.” 

“Hey, more than an hour ago you didn’t think she existed!” Natsu points out. 

“You got me there,” Gray says with a shrug. 

“And you thought Natsu was going to show up pretending to be me,” Lucy chuckles. 

At that, Natsu cracks up. “He what?” He laughs loudly, not caring if he is gaining attention from others nearby. “You guys didn’t mention that before!” 

Gray clearly looks frazzled and does his best to not appear embarrassed. “I’m sure Gajeel would have thought the same thing too…” he grumbles. 

“Oh, he would have,” Juvia assures him with a giggle. “I’m sure he would have.” 

Lucy takes a moment to scan a bookshelf with her eyes, seeing if she spots what she is searching for. 

Natsu stands behind her to rest his chin on her head, his hands stuffed in pockets. “Sooo whatcha looking for anyways?” 

“A book…” she replies, completely distracted from giving a proper response because she is still looking over the covers. 

“What kinda book?”

“A paranormal romance one…” 

“Is it part of a series?”

“Trilogy…” 

Natsu lowers his head so his mouth is next to her right ear. “Hey, Luce?” His breath is warm against her skin. 

Her skin tingles at the sensation. “Yes?” she whispers back to match his speech. 

“Do you wanna be my–”

“Ooo, Juvia loves this series!” she squeals, interrupting whatever Natsu was about to say. She grabs the first novel and holds it in her hands. 

Forgetting all about Natsu’s question, Lucy looks over at the hardcover book in her hand and smiles. “I love that series as well!” 

Juvia glances over her shoulder to look at Lucy. “Juvia thinks the series is great and all, but Juvia still really like the first book the best!” 

“Same here!” Lucy agrees. 

“Uh, Flame Brain…” Gray says warily. “What are you doing… ?”

The two girls fangirling over the series look to see he is standing next to a shelf, his face pressed against the books lined up on display. He merely grumbles incoherent words in response. 

“Are you all right, Natsu?” Juvia inquires, tilting her head to a side. 

Like before, he mumbles words no one can clearly make out. 

Lucy notices what his head is next to and her face lights up. “You found it!” 

Natsu is quick to pull away from the shelf so he can look at her. “Huh?”

With a skip in her step, she walks over to him and grabs a hardcover book off of the shelf. She holds it up for him too look at. “You found the book I was looking for. Thank you.” 

Natsu flashes her a toothy grin. “Don’t mention it, Luce!”

Lucy hugs the book to her chest and looks at the couple. “I’m all set!” 

“Wait, if the trilogy is complete, why isn’t Lucy getting the rest of it?” Juvia inquires. 

“Because I have a rule for myself,” she replies. “And that rule is I only buy one book per bookstore.” 

“So the next time you’re here, you’ll grab the second one?” Gray asks. “And so on?” 

She nods. “Exactly.” 

“So are these the next ones you need?” Natsu asks, pointing a finger at each of the spines. 

“Yes. And by the”-Lucy watches as he grabs them off of the shelf-“What are you doing?”

Without a word, Natsu winks at her and strolls away, the two books tucked under his arm. 

“Natsu?” Lucy says. 

He does not bother even looking over his shoulder. He keeps on walking away without a care in the world. 

“Natsu!” Lucy goes after him, hoping to stop him. She does not like it when people buy her things. She does not like having things handed to her. She is independent and is more than capable of taking care of herself.

He rounds a corner into the romance section. 

Of course, Lucy goes right after him. “Get back here, Natsu!”

Catching her off guard, Natsu spins around to face her once they are far enough down the aisle. 

Lucy stops short, ending up on her tip toes so she does not crash into him. She takes a deep calming breath before talking. “Just what do you think you’re doing?”

Natsu does not look away from her as he speaks. “I wanted some alone time with you. I’ve been happy with the double date so far, but I think I just wanna be on a date with just you.”

“So you plan on just ditching Gray and Juvia?”

He shrugs. “Maybe… Probably…” He softly smiles at her. “Honestly, do you know what would be great?”

“What?” she asks to humor him. 

“To go on a date with my girlfriend.” 

“G-girlfriend?” Lucy stutters, a wave of embarrassment washing over her. Did he really just use that word with her?

He nods. “Just the two of us.”

She opens her mouth to speak, but words do not come out. Not even a sound escapes. In fact, her mind begins to process what he has said before it goes blank completely. 

“But here’s the thing,” Natsu begins. “I still gotta ask her to be my girlfriend.” He rubs the back of his head sheepishly. “I tried asking her a bit ago, but she was too distracted by looking at books. And then I never gotta finish the question.” 

Lucy knows which precise moment he is talking about. If Juvia did not accidently interrupt, he would have been able to complete his question to her. Her face begins to heat up at the very thought if he did pull off what he intended to finish. 

A split second later, Natsu loses his cool. “Gah, dammit! Am I screwing this up?!”

She laughs at him, finding his reaction to things totally amusing. 

Of course, Natsu loosens up when he hears her happy laughter. He finds himself grinning because of her. 

“You’re such a weirdo,” she sputters, attempting to stop laughing. 

“But I’m your weirdo,” he jokes. 

“My weirdo…” Lucy muses. “I like the sound of that.” 

“Hey, you know what’s even better than that?” 

“What?” 

He grins from ear to ear. “You’re my weirdo.”

“I think I’m the only one who can handle you,” she chuckles. 

“Maybe we’re meant to be then.” 

“Maybe,” she agrees. 

A comfortable silence falls over the two until Natsu breaks it. “Hey, Luce?”

“Yes?”

“So what are we? Officially, I mean?”

She taps a finger to her chin. “I’m pretty sure you’re my weirdo and I’m your weirdo…”

Grinning from ear to ear, Natsu lights up. “Really?!” 

Lucy laughs. “Really–” She squeals from surprise when he hugs her tightly, lifting her off of her feet. “N-Natsu!” 

“You’re the best weirdo ever!” he says, his voice laced with happiness. “And you’re my weirdo which makes things even better!” 

From her viewpoint, she can see behind him. Of course, there is a young woman with a book in hand. She is focused on the open pages, but she is trying her hardest not to stare and laugh. “P-put me down!” Lucy says. 

Natsu sets her down with ease, but takes a hold of her right hand with his left. “Let’s go!” 

“Shouldn’t we at least tell Gray and Juvia?” she asks. 

“Nah. I’m sure they’ll catch on soon enough.” Then he pulls her along. “C’mon, Luce!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: Yooooooooo. Some major NaLu finally happened in this fic! Woooooo~ Anyways. I’ve been majorly busy with work and life since I got back from the con. But I have been hella eager to write more to my fics!! Also, Chapter 15 is gonna be longer than usual! To kinda make up for the lack of updating :P


	15. Chapter 15

Exactly a month later, Lucy and Natsu are at her apartment together. They are waiting until four o’clock, when it is time for them to leave. In the meantime, they are chilling inside of her family room on the couch. Lucy is taking up a single space with her laptop on her lap as she types away to her current novel that is still in the works. On the other hand, Natsu has claimed the remaining spots as he is sprawled out, eyes on the television screen. 

Breaking the calm air between them, Lucy groans rather loudly and startles Natsu in the process. He fumbles with the drink resting against his chest and the dark soda spills down his shirt. “Luce!” he gasps, quickly sitting up and setting the can down on the coffee table. 

Her hands fly to cover her mouth and she cannot help but laugh at the frazzled look her boyfriend is giving her. “I’m s-sorry,” she sputters. “I didn’t mean t-to scare you.” 

“You caught me off guard,” he corrects to protect what is left of his dignity. Then he looks down at his shirt as he holds it away from his torso. “Ugh, this won’t work for later.” 

“Just toss it in the laundry room and put on another shirt,” Lucy says. “I’m sure I have a load I can start.” 

With that, Natsu stands up and strips off his shirt. Much like the rest of him, his back is toned and tanned. He turns to face his girlfriend and bundles up the tee that will not do. Rather than looking at him, Lucy looks at his two noticeable scars. One is on the right side of his neck while the other one is a slightly larger, x-shaped mark on the left side of his abdomen.

“Eyes are up here, Luce,” he snorts, and tosses the bundle at her. 

She catches it before it smacks it into her face. “I know that!” she hisses, wishing her cheeks did not feel so warm. With one hand, she sets her laptop down on the couch before standing up. “I’ll take care of this”-she holds up the tee-“while you take care of”-she motions to his bare torso-“that.”

“Aw, don’t you like whatcha see, Luce?” he snickers, sending a wink her way. 

Arching an eyebrow at him, she steps to be right in front of him. She quickly looks him up and down before standing on her tip toes to whisper in his right ear. “You wish…” Lucy says in a teasing tone. Then she saunters away to the laundry room, knowing what she is doing with her hips as she moves. 

“Shit,” Natsu says under his breath, barely loud enough for Lucy to catch what he did say. 

Giggling to herself, she walks into the laundry and starts loading the washer. By the time she starts the load and returns to the family room, Natsu is there on the couch. Now he is wearing a clean, plain grey tee. He keeps some clothes and other things in a drawer from her dresser that he has taken over for his own. Slowly but surely, it feels as though he is moving himself into her apartment. Lucy has even found some shower supplies of his, but she does not mind. 

“Took you long enough,” Natsu teases. 

She sits down next to him. “Only because my idiot of a boyfriend decided to spill his drink on himself.”

“Only because his weirdo of a girlfriend decided to catch him off guard,” he counters, looping an arm around her to pull her close to him. 

Lucy cuddles up against his body, enjoying the moment. “Remind me again why we’re going out again?”

“Because my godfather is back in town from traveling and I want you guys to meet before he leaves again. He’s normally gone long periods of time so when he’s around, it’s always a must to meet up with him at least once.” Natsu smiles a little and boops her nose. “And now that we’re dating, I especially want him to meet you.” 

“Does he know we’ve been dating?”

He rolls his eyes dramatically. “He thinks I’m making you up.” 

That causes her to laugh. “Another person who thinks I’m not real?” 

“But you are! And you’re mine!” 

She smooches his right cheek. “Just like I’m yours–”

Natsu’s alarm on his cell phone sounds off from inside of his pocket, signaling that it is time to get going. “Woo, get pumped, Luce!” 

“All I have to do is put my shoes on and grab my purse.” 

“Then hop to it!” 

But Lucy remains in her place. “Uh, Natsu?”

“Yeah, Luce?”

“You have to let go of me first,” she says, drawing attention to the arm still wrapped around her. 

He merely hugs her tightly with both arms, squeezing her extra good. “Neverrr!” 

x-X-x

Natsu parks his vehicle and shuts off the engine. “You ready?” he asks, looking over at Lucy in the passenger seat. 

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” she replies, grabbing her purse from the floor by her feet. 

They get out of the car and Natsu locks it behind him as they walk hand-in-hand to the building. Quatro Cerberus is a popular sports grill and bar. There is plenty of outdoor seating under different umbrellas and music can be heard throughout. 

“Who suggested this place?” Lucy inquires as she looks around. 

“It’s a go to spot for Gildarts and me,” Natsu replies. “Quatro Cerberus is always a great place and has a good vibe to it.” 

Natsu gets the door for them and he leads the way to the back patio that is fenced off. “He’s normally in our usual spot–” he begins to say. 

“Natsu!” a loud voice booms. 

Lucy looks to see the large man who is waving a hand high above his head, holding onto the amber drink in his other hand. He has a muscular form and a stubby beard. He has shoulder- length light brown hair that is slicked back and dark eyes.

“Hiya, Gildarts!” Natsu greets with an ear to ear grin. 

When the duo approaches the table, Gildarts rises to his feet and holds his arms out wide. “C’mere, boy!” 

Lucy lets go of her boyfriend’s hand so he can go hug his godfather. Now that they are next to each other, clapping the other on the back, Natsu looks significantly smaller compared to him. Lucy feels slightly bittersweet about the moment because she wishes she could have a similar relationship like they have. 

When they break apart, Natsu looks back at Lucy and motions her over. “There’s somebody I wantcha to finally meet, Gildarts.” He takes her hand and smiles. “This is Lucy. My girlfriend.”

“She’s Lucy?” He gestures with both of his hands. “This is the Lucy you’ve told me about?”

“Yeah…” Natsu seems confused by the reaction. 

Looking back and forth between the two, Gildarts finally stops on Natsu. “But she’s hot! Way out of your league hot!” 

Natsu looks like he is going to blow a fuse, but he does not tighten his grip on his girlfriend. “Hey!” 

Gildarts looks at Lucy. “Is he bribing you to be his girlfriend? Did you lose a bet or something?”

“Nothing like that,” she laughs. 

He gives her a bewildered look before giving his attention to Natsu. “She’s the first girl you show actual interest in and you just happen to land her?” Gildarts cracks up before slapping Natsu on the back. “Good job!” 

He takes a step forward from the force that he did not expect to happen. “Th-thanks. I guess.” 

Gildarts looks at Lucy. “If this kid ever gives you trouble, just let me know.” 

“I doubt I’ll ever need to,” she says. 

Natsu grins at her words. 

“Hey, it’s time to sit down and celebrate!” Gildarts says. “My little godson has a girlfriend! Finally! After ages!” 

“We’ve been dating for a month now,” Natsu points out as he pulls out a chair for Lucy to sit on.

“Thank you,” she says as she sits down. 

“I’m surprised you’ve kept him around for that long,” Gildarts jokes, and takes a swig of his drink. 

“He can be a pain sometimes…” she teases. 

Natsu looks at Lucy, ignoring the previous comment said by his godfather. “Hey! I brought you here so you two could meet! I didn’t expect to be ganged up on!” 

Gildarts bellows with laughter. “That’s just how things work for you.” His mood changes slightly. “Okay, now I need even more caught up on the loop. How did you two become official?”

Remembering how it happened, Lucy gets slight butterflies in her stomach. Then she looks at Natsu. “Do you want to tell it or me?”

“So here’s how it all went down,” he begins with excitement. “We were at the mall and ended up at a bookstore with Ice Princess and his girlfriend–”

“Double date?” Gildarts inquires out of curiosity. 

“Yeah.” 

“Okay, keep going.” 

“She had grabbed the first book to a trilogy and didn’t like I was gonna get the other two books for her. So I try going off to pay for them and she follows me down another section. Some sappy moments later and me not screwing things up, we’re official!”

“Officially official, huh?” Gildarts asks with a small smile. 

Natsu eagerly nods. “About as official as you can get.” He uses his right hand to reach for his girlfriend’s left hand that is resting on her lap. 

She uses her thumb to stroke his skin. 

“Well, congratulations,” Gildarts says warmly. “To the both of you. I’m really happy for you guys.” Then his mood changes. “Oh, do you want drinks? Food? Just put whatever you want on my tab!” 

“Now, Gildarts–” Natsu begins. 

“Whatever you want,” he stresses, ignoring his godson. “On my tab.” 

“Thank you,” Lucy says, happy about his considerate gesture. 

Natsu stands up and looks down at her. “Do you want your usual?” he asks. 

“If you don’t mind,” she replies. 

He smooches the top of her head before walking away. “No hitting on her, Gildarts!” Natsu warns. 

He merely chuckles. “No worries!” 

She can only hope he will not try anything funny with her. 

“Lucy.” For whatever reason, Gildarts’ tone is serious. 

“Yes?” she asks, looking at him. 

He never looks away from her while he speaks. “I know Natsu’s an adult and can take care of himself, but he’s still my godson. Now he’s pretty dense and might not be the brightest bulb in the drawer, but I don’t want anybody taking advantage of him.”

In all honestly, she is stunned he is talking about this to her. How can he possible think she will want to do that to Natsu?

“If you’re one of those girls who have “fallen head over heels in love” with him for his looks and money–” Gildarts continues. 

“Ashley,” Lucy interrupts, taking a firm stand against him. 

He blinks. “Huh?”

“Have you heard of an author who goes by Ashley?” 

He rubs his stubble. “Can’t say that I have.”

“You should look her up sometime,” she suggests. “I can promise you that it’ll give a better insight into who I am.” 

Gildarts studies her carefully. “Is that so?”

She merely stares back, not uttering a single word. 

Suddenly, he is all smiles when he spots Natsu heading over to the table. 

“Here you go, Luce,” Natsu says, setting the drink in front of her. 

“Thank you.” An idea comes to her. Something that can prove herself to Gildarts without being too obvious. “Natsu, did you tell Gildarts that Happy and Carla both like me?”

Gildarts chokes on his drinks and tries not to sputter everywhere. 

“You okay?” Natsu asks him. 

He sets down his drink so he does not spill it and beats his chest a couple of times. He looks at Natsu with wide eyes. “Do th-they really l-like her?” Gildarts clears his throat. “The b-both of them?” 

He grins. “Yeah, they do! They really like her!” Then he drops his voice to a grumble. “Happy likes snuggling her more than me though… Damn little traitor…”

Gildarts shifts his gaze to Lucy, looking at her with awe. “Wow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: Making up for the lack of updating, here’s a longer chapter than usual! I planned on having Gildarts at a point, buuut due to the last time I was out with my fiancé and his dad, I totally wanted Gildarts and Lucy to pick on Natsu XD It just seemed right haha :P And some drama in this chapter, but it’ll get better! 
> 
> A/N Part 2: Anyways, happy Valentine’s Day!! You guys are the best and deserve some love :3
> 
> A/N Part 3: Psssst. In case y’all didn’t know, I have a Tumblr! Feel free to follow me on there :) I’m always up for new followers and following back! The username is the same one I have on here: RayreeAnne
> 
> A/N Part 4: So EmeraldTrees made two awesome covers for my Fairy Tail Fanfics, MTAP and CAF! I'm sooo thrilled with them!! ^-^ It's the first time I've seen/received artwork for my writing so I was hella pumped getting 2 covers from a fan :D I shared them on my Facebook and Tumblr pages if you guys follow me on those sites.


	16. Chapter 16

By now, the trio is in a great mood. Natsu is all sorts of loosey–goosey from the buzz he is currently on. Lucy is holding off because she knows she will be the one driving afterwards. On the other hand, Gildarts is still going at it with his amber drinks. 

“And he’s lucky that Wendy was too little to remember him streaking through the house naked!” Gildarts hollers with laughter, finishing the story. 

Natsu’s cheeks tint pink, but not from the alcohol buzzing in his system. “Hey!” 

“That’s pretty funny,” Lucy giggles, and picks up a fry to nibble on. A thought occurs and she chuckles. “And nowadays it’s like he can’t keep his clothes on!” 

“Ain’t that the truth?” Gildarts shouts before taking a swig of his drink. 

“But I thought you were on my side, Luceee!” Natsu whines. 

“I mean, have you seen your modeling photos?” she asks rhetorically. “You hardly ever wear a shirt. If you are, then the front buttons are undone. Orrr some other times you’re just wearing underwear…” 

Natsu arches his eyebrows and leans towards her a little. “Have you seen photos I don’t know you’ve seen?” 

She merely shrugs, trying to be nonchalant about the matter. “I may or may not have done some research…” She proceeds to munch on more fries. 

“Oh, do you like what you’ve seen?” Natsu asks with a cheeky grin, waggling his eyebrows. 

“Oi, I’m right here you two!” Gildarts says, rolling his eyes dramatically. “Save the bedroom eyes for when I’m not around!” 

Lucy chokes and grabs her glass of clear bubbling soda to relieve her airway. Sure, she and Natsu have been for a month now. However, they have not done much in any bedroom. Although, they have experimented in some hot and heavy make-out sessions before. Lucy is fine with waiting since her parents had her at such a young age. After all, she does not want history to repeat itself with her. 

Meanwhile, Natsu is cracking up at Gildarts’ comment. “Does it look like either of us care?” 

Waving the thought away with a hand gesture, Gildarts turns his attention to Lucy who has since recovered. “So you know this kid delivers pizza and models. What do you do?” 

“I write,” she replies. 

Gildarts tilts his head to a side, in a way that is very similar to what Natsu does. “Write?”

“C’mere. I’ll explain.” Natsu ends up leaning towards him and whispering in his ear. 

Gildarts’ eyes slowly grow wide. “Famous author… ?” he echoes quietly. 

Returning to his original position, Natsu nods enthusiastically. “Yep! Her books are great!” 

Lucy laughs. “He’s just taking Wendy’s word for it.” 

“Nuh-uh,” Natsu says, shaking his head. 

“Then who else?” Lucy asks, feeling slightly confused. “Levy? Juvia?”

Natsu looks her in the eye, a sly grin on his face. “Me.”

“You?” Lucy questions. 

Gildarts laughs. “You?” He laughs some more. “I can’t even remember the last time you picked up a book to read for fun!” 

Natsu sticks his tongue out at his godfather. “That would have been yesterday.” 

Both Lucy and Gildarts are surprised. “Yesterday?” they ask unison. 

“Yep! And I’m almost done with it!” He seems rather proud of himself. 

“So when did you start reading, Natsu?” Gildarts inquires. 

“Oh, I started reading her books ’bout a month ago,” he replies. “Wendy’s been letting me borrow hers.” 

Lucy’s jaw drops open. She knows Natsu is not one to read. He really has never been according to Igneel and Grandeeney. 

“I started with Right Place, Right Time since that’s the first one she wrote,” Natsu continues. “I’m almost done with Elvina. I’ve got a couple more chapters to go!”

The impact of his words hit Lucy hard. She is beyond touched and feels so special that he has taken the time to read her work. He even started with the one that started everything for her. 

Natsu looks at Lucy, a caring smile on his lips. “I mean, what’s a better way to get to know you than read what you’ve written?”

Not giving it a second thought, she leans forward and grabs the side of his head so she can kiss him. It is sweet and to the point. When their lips break apart, Lucy smiles at him. “You are incredibly thoughtful and caring. I really hope you know that, Natsu.” 

His cheeks tint pink as he looks at her. Then he grins from ear to ear at her. “You’re not so bad yourself, Luce.” 

She playfully whacks his shoulder. “Not nice,” she scolds lightly. 

Gildarts seems preoccupied with his drink to have noticed their little interaction. After all, he wants them to have some space. He is secretly cheering for his godson to have scored such a great girlfriend. 

“Hey, I have to go to the bathroom.” Then Lucy eyes Natsu carefully. “No eating my fries while I’m gone.”

Fear flashes in his eyes. “Aye, sir!” 

“Don’t worry about it!” Gildarts says. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t!”

“The same goes for you, too!” she says before leaving the table. 

“A-aye, sir,” Gildarts says in a defeated tone. 

Natsu cracks up. “She knows you by now!” 

She walks inside and makes her way to the other side of the building where the restrooms are located. All while avoiding walking into people, she goes up a small staircase and passes a pool table with guys surrounding it.

Once inside the restroom, she takes a moment to collect herself. Her boyfriend is insanely sweet for what he has been doing without her knowing. Wendy never gave any hints that she has been letting him borrow her copies. 

After she takes care of business and washes her hands, Lucy leaves the bathroom to make her way back to Natsu and Gildarts. 

A hand gently grabs a hold of her left bicep. “Hey, Halie!” 

Lucy looks over in surprise at the young man. Along with his dark skin, he has very dark eyes and black hair. 

“Oh, you’re not Halie.” However, he keeps a hold of her. 

“No, I’m not,” she confirms lamely. 

“Whoops, sorry about that,” the guy chuckles. 

“It’s no problem.”

“I’m Ren by the way.”

“Lucy.” 

“Ah, Lucy. That’s a pretty name.” 

She has no time for idle chit chat with an absolute stranger. “Look, I have to get going. People are expecting me.” 

“Aww, why don’t you stick around for a bit?” He winks at her. “I’m sure you’d enjoy the company here.” 

Lucy tugs her arm away, but Ren keeps a hold of her. “Last chance. Let me go.” 

“Or what?” he asks coyly. 

Without a word, she uses her right leg to deliver a strong Lucy Kick directly between his legs. 

Eyes nearly popping out of his head, his face contorts. He crumples to the wooden floor, clutching himself where the pain is resonating from. The others around the pool table who saw what just occurred make sure to not make any eye contact with the one who brought their friend down with one blow. 

“Or that,” Lucy says to Ren, clapping her hands together at a job well done. She makes a move for the stairs, but stops when she sees a familiar face. 

At the top of the landing is Natsu, staring at her with a mix of awe and fear. He feels pretty sober now after what he just witnessed his girlfriend do. “Wow… Looks like I didn’t need to save you. You can totally handle yourself.” 

“I might know a thing or two.” Then Lucy proceeds to walk over to him. 

Panic flashes in his eyes and Natsu is quick to cover his crotch with both hands. 

She notices and laughs. “I’m not going to hurt you.” 

“Good to know.” Natsu takes a quick glance at Ren who is down for the count. “Remind me to never mess with you. Ever.”

“I think you already know that,” Lucy chuckles. 

“Good point!” Then he smooches her head. “Head back to Gildarts. I’m gonna take a leak.”

“Don’t run into any trouble like I did,” she says, walking down the stairs. 

“No promises!” 

When Lucy makes it back to the table, she discovers Gildarts busy with his phone. “Did you find something interesting?” she asks, taking a seat. 

“Ashley.” Then he looks up, making eye contact with her. “Ashley the famous author.” 

Lucy casually nibbles on a fry. “Annnd… ?” She is slightly curious to what he has to say. 

“Wow. Just wow.” Gildarts puts down his phone to give her his attention. “So why the penname?” 

“It’s easier than using my real name.” 

He tilts his head to a side yet again. “What’s wrong with Lucy?” 

“It’s my last name,” she clarifies. 

Gildarts thinks for a second. “Natsu didn’t mention it…” 

“I don’t think he even knows it,” Lucy admits. 

“Why not?” 

“Because it shouldn’t matter. I’m still Lucy without it.” 

“Wait, let me get this straight. You guys have been dating for a month now and he doesn’t know your last name?” 

“Pretty much.” 

Gildarts gives her a scrutinizing look. 

“It’s not like I’m hiding anything bad,” she assures him. “I really don’t associate myself with the family I was born into.” 

His gaze softens. “But family is important.” 

She thinks of her long time friend, Yukino. The people she has met because of Natsu pop up in her mind. Finally, her boyfriend is a clear image she can picture. They are all her chosen family. “Not all family is blood related.” 

Gildarts softly smiles, thinking of Natsu and the family he has because of adoptions. “Good point.” 

“I’m baaack,” Natsu announces as he makes his way back over to the table. 

“Hey, we just weren’t talking about you!” Gildarts says sarcastically. 

Natsu eyes him carefully. “What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“Nothing,” Lucy laughs. “Nothing at all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: So that Ren was totally Ren Akatsuki from Blue Pegasus. I like sticking with FT characters rather than making up my own. 
> 
> A/N Part 2: But y’all get another chapter so soon because y’all are so awesome! :D So here’s to you guys!! Thank you all so much for your support and encouragement! Everything means so much to me :3


	17. Chapter 17

Towards seven o’clock, Lucy and Natsu are leaving a frozen custard place with cups and spoons in hand. They both got two scoops of the flavor of the week. 

As the couple rounds the corner towards the small parking lot, they stop when they see familiar faces. 

Levy breaks into a smile upon seeing Lucy and Natsu and waves at them. “Hey, guys!” 

Over the past month, Lucy and Levy have grown extremely close with one another. Sometimes Natsu and Gajeel are left out of the picture because the two young women want to spend time with one another. Of course, Lucy cherishes the friendship she shares with Levy. 

“What are ya guys doing?” Gajeel asks. 

“What’s it look like we’re doing?” Natsu digs his spoon into his cold treat before taking a big bite. “Duh.” 

“Aww, is Natsu taking you out for your birthday, Lu?” Levy inquires. 

Lucy and Natsu both have different reactions to the question. She freezes up, panic washing over it. On the other hand, he is absolutely dumbfounded. 

“Birffday?” he questions with his mouth still full. He takes out his spoon and swallows, a puzzled expression on his face. “Her birthday?” Then he looks at Lucy. “When’s your birthday?”

“Today…” Lucy says quietly. 

His jaw immediately drops open. “Gah, I’m a horrible boyfriend! How could I forget your birthday?!” Something dawns on him. “Wait, I don’t think you’ve ever told me about your birthday before…” 

“Hey, it’s all right,” she assures him. “I don’t celebrate it. I never do anyways.” 

“Never do… ?” Natsu’s face falls.

“Ya never celebrated your birthday when ya were a kid?” Gajeel asks. 

Lucy shakes her head. “My seventh birthday is the last birthday party I remember. After that–” She cuts herself short when she realizes what she is going to say. 

“Luce?” Natsu questions with concern. He does not want to pry information from her, but he does want to know if she is doing okay at the very least. 

“Uh, I don’t want to dampen the mood.” 

He is quiet for a moment. “If you don’t wanna say it now, that’s fine. Just know I’m always here to listen. Whenever and wherever.”

She smiles up at him. “Thank you.” 

Levy smiles at the couple. “Aww, you’re so good to her!” 

“At least he isn’t screwing things up,” Gajeel teases. 

“At least I didn’t scare Luce outta her mind the first time we met,” Natsu points out with a devious grin. 

Gajeel nearly pops a gasket. “Grr, what was that?”

“You wanna go, Lug Nuts?” 

Levy rolls her eyes and pulls Lucy over to the side so they can sit down on the nearby metal bench. They both know the guys need to blow off steam. Of course, if things get too bad one of them will put their foot down. 

“So you really didn’t tell him?” Levy asks. 

Lucy shakes her head. “I didn’t. And you only know because of websites. I doubt he would have researched that part about me.” 

“I can’t argue that,” she admits. 

Before she went to bed last night, Lucy silenced her phone. At that point, she knew she would be receiving everything from notifications to texts from all sorts of people once midnight hit. Of course, she will take some time to reply to certain ones. But she will deal with them tomorrow. 

“I hope you know that Natsu will try and make things up to you,” Levy says. “He’s that kind of person.” 

She toys with her frozen custard with her spoon. “But there’s nothing to make up…” 

Levy arches an eyebrow. “It’s your birthday. And it’s your first birthday that’s happened since you guys started dating.” She smiles softly. “Birthdays mean something to Natsu. They’re important to him.” 

Lucy looks down at the cup in her hand. She stares at her black raspberry chocolate chip frozen custard as though it is the most interesting thing in the world. “They’re important to me, too. It’s just not important when it’s my birthday.” 

That causes Levy to chuckle. “I’m sure Natsu would disagree with that.” 

A gentle smile forms on Lucy’s lips. “I can only imagine…” Taking a breath of fresh air, she looks over at Levy. “Anyways, what are guys doing out and about?” 

“Oh, there’s an antique store I’ve been meaning to visit for a bit now,” she replies with a small smile. “Gajeel suggested we could stop by since we are running errands. Well, we were at least…” 

Stealing a glance at Natsu and Gajeel, Lucy finds they are still going at it. 

Gajeel folds his arms across his chest defensively. “At least it didn’t take me almost twenty-four years to get the girl of my dreams.”

“At least I wasn’t dumb enough to drop the engagement ring because I was shaking so much when proposing,” Natsu counters smugly. “And then lose it in the snow…”

“O-oi!” Gajeel shouts, looking like he might take a swing at his cousin. 

“Have fun pulling your fiancé away from my boyfriend,” Lucy comments. 

Levy giggles. “I think I have a few tricks that might work…” 

“All right, let’s see what you have up your sleeves!” Before the show can start, Lucy sits back and eats her frozen custard.

“Hey, you two!” Levy starts. “Lu and I are going to get going and shop together!” 

Neither of the two acknowledges what she just said. 

“Levy, look!” Lucy says in a loud enough voice, remaining in the exact same position. “An ex of mine just texted me!” 

Natsu immediately whips his head around, no longer giving Gajeel his sole attention. “What?!” Ignoring his cousin completely, he rushes over to Lucy. “What did that no good bast–” Something clicks for him and he stops short. “Wait… I’m the only person you’ve ever dated… You can’t have an ex…”

“Wow, that’s a good one, Lu!” Levy says with amazement. “I might have to use that someday!” 

“Hey, no ex of yours should be texting ya, Shrimp!” Gajeel exclaims. 

Now that she has his attention, Levy stands up and makes her way over to her fiancé. She wraps her arms around one of his muscular arms, hugging it against her torso. “You have nothing to worry about.” 

“Good,” he grunts. 

With the hand holding her spoon, Lucy waves at the engaged couple. “You two have fun shopping now!” 

“Take care!” Levy says as they walk away. 

Natsu takes a seat next to Lucy, their thighs touching each other. 

“So how’s your frozen custard?” Lucy inquires before taking a bite of hers. 

“It’s good,” he replies. “I almost smashed it into his face.” 

Lucy gasps, feigning horror at the very idea. “That would have been a waste of perfectly good frozen custardy goodness!” 

“Which is exactly why I didn’t.” Natsu takes a bite of his and thinks about it for a moment before he looks at his girlfriend. “Hey, lemme try some of yours.” 

She is confused. “What? But we have the exact same thing.” 

“I’m pretty sure yours is better than mine. That’s why you’ve eaten more than me.” 

She rolls her eyes. “It’s actually because you were too busy chatting with Gajeel.”

“Well, I’m positive it’s because yours has more chocolate chips in it.” Just as he tries stealing some of her frozen treat with his spoon, Lucy deflects it with her own. Natsu looks utterly betrayed by her action. “How could you, Luce?” 

“How could you try and steal some of mine?” She scoops of a spoonful and raises it to her mouth. 

Natsu swoops in and totally steals the bite from her with his mouth. “Mm, yours is better than mine!” he says, licking his lips. 

“N-Natsu!” 

“You should totally lemme have more of yours!” 

“And I should totally Lucy Kick you for that!” 

His face instantly blanches. “No. Please. Anything but that.” 

“Then don’t steal any more from me,” she warns. 

“A-aye, sir!” 

x-X-x

Towards the end of the night, the duo is back at Lucy’s apartment. Natsu has come to learn over time that when Lucy is tired, she is grumpy. However, when she is sleepy, it is like she has no filter for anything. Sometimes whatever she is saying makes no sense at all no matter how hard Natsu tries deciphering it. 

They are currently on the couch, cuddling with each other. Natsu is sitting upright while Lucy is lying down with a pillow on his lap. With closed eyes, she is facing him, her back towards the TV as he watches some show on Netflix. 

“Hey, Natsu?” Lucy asks suddenly, not bothering to open her heavy eyelids. 

“Hm?” He is expecting her to say something silly like she has been. 

“Can I tell you a secret?”

“Sure.”

“It’s something no one really knows.”

He pauses whatever he is watching. “Okay.” 

“My mother passed away after my seventh birthday. Her death took a heavy toll on us. My father became less involved with my life after that. Every single year since he has forgotten my birthday and nothing has been ever done.” She chuckles softly. “I used to make fake cakes out of rocks and plants I found in the garden. Dolls of mine were my only friends and they sang happy birthday to me. I stopped doing that by the time I was thirteen though.” She sighs, snuggling more into him. “That’s why my birthdays don’t mean anything to me.” 

The apartment falls utterly silent. Only their breathing can be heard.

“What if I make them special for you again?” Natsu asks after a moment when he finally finds his voice. 

Lucy giggles. “Gonzales already tried that when I was younger. Her plans never worked.”

“Who?” he questions, and then shakes his head. “Uh, nevermind.”

“The little garden parties were fun,” she says in a dreamy voice. 

“I think it’s time you went to bed, Luce. You ready?”

“I’m comfy.”

“But I bet your bed is comfier,” he comments, turning off the TV with the remote. 

“But it’s too far awayyy,” she whines. 

“I’ll carry you.” 

“All right.” But she makes no move to adjust herself so he can carry her or even stand up. 

“Luce.” He gently pokes her cheek with a finger. “Luceee.” 

“Whaaat?” she asks, slight annoyance in her voice. All she wants to do is sleep and he is preventing her from doing that. 

“C’mon. Time for beddy bye land.” Putting up with the fact she is practically a dead weight, Natsu manages to move her around so he can carry her bridal style. 

Without bumping her dangling feet into anything, he makes it to her bedroom and lies her down on her bed. After tucking her under her covers, he leans down and smooches her forehead. “G’night, Luce. Sleep tight.” 

“Luv you…” she mumbles just as he is stepping away from her. 

Natsu freezes in place. It is the first time either of them has said that. Although, he is not even sure if she means it because of her current state. He softly smiles at her even though she is not looking at him. “I love you, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: Can you guys tell what I was craving when I wrote this chapter?? XD There’s a frozen custard store right next door to the studio I work at! The flavor Lucy had is my favoriteeeeee!! :3 Possible Future Spoiler Warning: In case y’all were wandering, the name Gonzales comes from the Eclipse Celestial Spirits Arc in the anime! For those who aren’t there yet, there might be a slight spoiler about who Gonzales is in the upcoming chapter! 
> 
> A/N Part 2:I guess I’m continuing this arc ??? It was supposed to be the “Gildarts Arc” and then skip to something else. But now it’s branching out with this birthday thing. So I’m rolling with it for now…
> 
> A/N Part 3: Here’s to you guys!! Thank you all so much for your support and encouragement! Everything means so much to me :3


	18. Chapter 18

The next morning, Lucy wakes up on her back to a strange sight in her bedroom. She slowly sits up, taking in her surroundings. Floating against the ceiling is a multitude of balloons in her two favorite colors of pink and blue.

She blinks, making sure her eyes are not deceiving them. Then she rubs her eyes with both hands, just to make sure she is truly seeing what she thinks she is seeing. “What… ?”

Lucy glances around her bedroom, noticing a trail of colorful confetti along the floor that is leading out under the door to the hallway. She warily gets out of bed and grabs her fuzzy pink robe to wear over her tank top and shorts. Fastening the belt around her waist, she makes her way over to the door. 

When she opens the door, she is met with a delicious waft of air. It smells like breakfast. Eager to see what is in store for her, Lucy follows the trail of confetti into the kitchen. She stops when she sees her boyfriend facing the stove. With arms crossed under her chest, she leans up against the frame to take in the scene. 

With his back to her, Natsu is whistling while tending to flipping pancakes and scrambling eggs. He is even moving his hips and wiggling his butt which may or may not look great in the jeans he is wearing. There are three plates and one bowl lined up next to the counter near him. The bowl is empty while the plates have different versions of pancakes. 

“Good morning,” Lucy says. 

Natsu jumps a little in surprise and whirls around to look at her. “Well, good morning to you, too!” 

“What are you doing?” 

“Making breakfast! And your timing works out since I was just finishing up!” Natsu turns off the stove and moves the pancakes from the pan onto a certain plate. Then he takes the scrambled eggs and dumps them into the bowl. 

“And what do we have, Chef Natsu?” Lucy asks, making her way over to him. 

He gestures with a hand at the food he has prepared for them. “I’ve seen you eat scrambled eggs before, so I went with that. When it came to pancakes, I wasn’t sure what kind you liked best so I made different batches.” Then Natsu switches into an announcer-like voice. “If you like plain, there’s some plain! If you want to be even sweeter, there’s some chocolate chip! And if you like fruit, well by golly there’s some blueberry!” 

Lucy cracks up. “By golly?”

“By golly”-he boops her nose-“gosh darnit!” 

She smiles up at him. “Thank you.”

“Oh, don’t thank me yet. We still hafta eat. And then there’s more planned for you!” 

She arches an eyebrow at him. “Even more than waking up to balloons and confetti? Even more than my wonderful boyfriend cooking me breakfast and giving me options?” 

He pecks her forehead. “Even more, Luce.” 

The duo wastes no time setting the table and sitting down next to each other. Of course, Natsu has more food stacked on his plate than Lucy. 

“So what exactly do you have planned?” she inquires before taking a bite. 

He merely shakes his head. “Nope.” 

“Nope?” 

“Nope!” Natsu grins at her. “Did I stutter?” 

She gives him her best puppy dog eyes. “Not even a hint?”

“Not even a little one.” 

Lucy puffs her cheeks out in annoyance. “Fine then.” she looks down at her plate and continues eating. 

He nudges her lightly with his elbow. “Are you gonna ignore me?”

She shows no sign that she heard her. 

He gasps. “You are ignoring me.” 

She simply grabs her glass of orange juice and drinks some. 

Natsu thinks he has a way to snap her out of it. “Hey, who’s Gonzales?”

Totally caught off-guard he asked such a thing, Lucy stiffens a little. “How do you know that name?”

“You said it last night.” 

“What? No, I didn’t.”

He tilts his head to one side. “You don’t remember that part?”

“What part?”

“About what you told me?”

Now Lucy is utterly confused. “You’re not making any sense.” 

Natsu studies her for a moment. “Cake.”

“Huh?”

“A cake made of rocks and plants.” 

She is beyond shocked now. “How do you know that… ?” she whispers. 

“Luce, you told me that. Last night. On the couch. Right before I carried you to bed.” His eyes search her face, taking in her lost expression. “You don’t remember…” 

She shakes her head. “I don’t remember any of that. Oh, my goodness! How much did I tell you?” 

“You told me some things, but I think you summarized why your birthdays don’t mean anything to you.” 

“So you know about my parents?” 

He nods. 

“And you know what I did?”

He simply nods again. 

Lucy takes a deep breath, feeling as though a weight has been lifted off of her shoulders. “For a birthday of mine, my parents gave me a doll. I named her Gonzales.”

In a mere second, Natsu is cracking up. “Gonzales? You need a doll Gonzales?!” 

“Hey, I liked it back then!” she says defensively. 

He has to take the time to wipe away tears. “Th-this is great!” 

“Says the guy who has a cat named Happy!” Lucy counters. 

He looks taken back by her words. “Hey, Happy’s a great name!” 

“And you’re saying Gonzales isn’t?”

“I’m saying I wouldn’t name a kid of mine Gonzales!” Natsu grins at her. “Which reminds me, no naming kids for you.” 

Lucy feels as though she is going to pop a vein. “I-I can name my children whatever I want! I’m able to name my characters after all!” 

He dramatically rolls his eyes. “Surrre.”

She takes her fork and aims it at him. “You listen to me, Natsu Dragneel. One of these days, I will be a mother. When that moment comes, I will prove to you that I can indeed choose great names for my children.” 

He takes a moment to think over her words. “As long as I’m the one helping you name ’em.” 

Surprised by his words, she slightly lowers her fork. “Why would you do that?” 

He does not break eye contact with her as a gentle smile forms on his lips. “Because I’ll be the reason you’re a mom in the first place.” 

Once his words process through Lucy’s mind, the fork in her hand slips from her fingers and clatters onto the floor. Her whole face heats up and she feels as though her ears are going to melt off. “N-Natsu!” 

He looks as innocent as ever. “Yeah?” 

“You c-can’t just say something like th-that!” 

He tilts his head to one side. “Why not?” 

“B-because I said so!” She finally averts her gaze from him and stares down at her unfinished food to focus on something else other than his sweet face. 

“Whatever you say, Luce.” Natsu smooches her cheek before standing up from his seat. He grabs her fork and walks over to the sink with it. He then goes over to the drawer full of utensils and grabs a new fork for her. 

“Thank you,” she says, taking it from him. 

“Anything for you, Luce.” 

x-X-x

After breakfast, Lucy is dressed for the day even though she has no clue what to expect since Natsu has his lips sealed about what plans he has for them. She is wearing a powder blue, halter top that flares out to her hips. There is a bow cinched to her waist and pretty black lace that helps cover most of her cleavage. Her pants are tight and black while her cute booties match in color. 

Lucy finishes tying her hair in a simple half-up style and applying some makeup before she leaves her bedroom. By the time she makes it into the kitchen, Natsu has finished cleaning up from breakfast and put the leftovers in the fridge. 

“All ready?” he asks having heard her walk into the room. He turns to look at her and smiles, looking her up and down. “Damn, I’m lucky.” 

“Lucky, huh? Why’s that?” 

“My girlfriend’s incredible.” He makes his way over to her. “She’s hot. She can kick ass. She’s clever and creative.” He stops in front of her. “Want me to go on?” 

Feeling confident, Lucy slips her arms around his neck. “I’m sure I could use the confident booster.” 

“Oh, trust me”-Natsu winds his arms around her waist-“I can go on and on ’bout you.” Then he rubs his nose against her. “And on and on.” 

She giggles at his display of affection. “Is that so?” 

“Quite so actually,” he whispers as he leans in for a kiss. 

Lucy’s eyes flutter closed as their lips press against one another. She loves the softness and warmth from his mouth and can never get enough of them. She steps closer towards her boyfriend and molds the front of her body against his, wanting some more of him. 

Breaking the kiss, Natsu pulls back with a grin. “As muuuch as I’d love kissing you alllll day, I got stuff planned! C’mon, Luce!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thank you all for bearing with me! Writing and work have been a thing :P As well as life. I still live at home, but the fiancé just moved! I can literally walk to his place from my work!! So I’ve been busy helping him settle and haven’t been writing as much. Anywayssss, since it has been awhile since I updated CAF last, y’all get a longer chapter than normal in Chapter 19! Woo~


	19. Chapter 19

{For those of you who don’t know, after my last MTAP update I had been dealing with someone in an ugly, nasty situation. A user stole works from authors on FFnet and posted them on her Wattpad account. She had the audacity to copy word for word, even down to the author notes. She even stole the cover images from the works. A couple of readers of mine informed me that this user stole MTAP and claimed it as her own. She then stole a one-shot from me since I was annoying her in asking to remove MTAP from her page. Of course, I didn’t tolerate that.

As of now, all stolen works have been removed from the user’s Wattpad page. Hopefully things stay that way. But I want you guys to be aware of what happened. I’ll admit, I did feel crushed someone would steal my work that I have continued to pour my heart into. This has been the first time I know someone has stolen from me at least. However, even with the situation, I hope I’ll not be deterred in future updates and posts of my fanfics. I’d rather not just update/post just on my Patreon Account because the support I receive on there I want to happen because my readers believe I deserve it and wish to support me.

I love writing and the support I receive from each one of my readers on the sites I post to is incredibly awesome. It keeps me going and keeps me writing. And when Elvina is published someday, I can truly say it’s because of you guys!

And now, he’s the next chapter!!}

It is clear to see Lucy is apprehensive at the task Natsu expects her to do with him. After all, she has no experience at all for this sort of thing.

“You’ve told me you’ve never done this before so I thought it’d be fun for you!” he reasons, trying to get his girlfriend pumped.

“This won’t end will for me,” she mutters. 

“Well, that’ll be the case with that kinda attitude,” he points out. 

Of all the places to be at, they are inside a chilly ice skating rink. Natsu succeeded in pulling off another birthday surprise without a hitch! Before he left his place earlier, he packed a beanie, a coat, and extra socks for Lucy in his trunk. She had been clueless with what was happening until they pulled up to the building.

Currently, the couple is standing just outside the rink where people are having fun going around the ice. She is all bundled up while he is still wearing his clothes from earlier because he can handle the temperature. 

“I’ll go out first if that makes you feel better,” Natsu offers. 

“It’ll give me time to escape…” Lucy says under her breath. 

“Oh, please,” he playfully scoffs. “You waddle like a penguin in those skates. You won’t get far before I getcha.” Then he jerks his head towards the ice. “You’ll do better out there. Promise.” 

She folds her arms under her chest and huffs, “At least I’m a cute penguin…” 

“Adorable,” he agrees, smooching her cheek and stepping out onto the ice. He turns with ease to face her, holding both hands out for her. A grin lights up his face. “C’mon, Penguin!” 

Swallowing hard, she wobbles across the mats and over to the edge of the rink. Holding on to the entrance with both hands, she steps down with her right foot. “Nope,” she says while raising it up. 

“C’mon, Luce. You at least gotta give it a try.” Natsu gives her his best puppy dog eyes. “Pleaseee?” 

Taking a deep breath, Lucy puts her right foot back down and then her left. She lets go and keeps her arms out to balance herself. She slowly starts smiling as she looks down at her feet. “I-I’m doing it.” She looks up at her grinning boyfriend. “I’m doing it!” 

“Great! Now it’s time for you to move.”

Dread trickles down her spine. “Oh, no. I made it out on the ice like you wanted, Natsu.” 

He playfully rolls his eyes. “And by giving it a try, you at least hafta make it once around the rink.”

“I never agreed to that!” When she starts losing her balance, Lucy flails her arms out and locks her knees. 

Natsu is quick to skate forward and steady her with a hand as she clutches onto him with both of her hands. She scoots herself forward so she can really secure her bearings. “Thank you,” Lucy says.

“No problem,” he says. “You know I’m always here for you.” Then he takes the opportunity to peck her lips. “Now let’s get started!” 

x-X-x

Lucy’s rear might be a little sore, but she can honestly say that she did have fun ice skating with her boyfriend. Although, she is fine taking her time until the next time she goes back there. Now she and Natsu are at her favorite diner for lunch. They have a spot next to the window that overlooks the nearby pond. 

“Luche, look!” he says, his voice slightly muffled. 

She looks up from the menu to discover he has two straws tucked under his upper lip, making him look like a particular mammal. She instantly cracks up. “Wh-what are you doing?” 

“I’m a walrush!” He seems rather proud of himself. 

“More like a dorky walrus,” Lucy corrects. 

Then Natsu takes out the straws and puts them into his carbonated drink. “I bet I’m the best walrus you know!” 

She giggles when a thought occurs to her. “Great. I’m a penguin and you’re a walrus.” 

“We make quite the couple,” he says, waggling his eyebrows. 

Lucy cannot help but smile at him. “We sure do.” 

“Excuse me,” an unfamiliar voice says from the side of the table. 

The couple looks over to see a high school girl giving Natsu her sole attention. 

“So me and my friends”-she points over to where three other girls are seated in a booth “happened to notice you and we’re all wondering… Do you model for Lamia & Cait?”

Seeing no point in denying it, Natsu simply shrugs. “Yeah.” 

The girl squeals loudly, clasping her hands in front of her chest. “I knew it!” 

Because of her reaction, her friends back at the table grow excited. 

“So you are Natsu!” the girl squeals.

“Hey, keep it down,” he scolds lightly, not wanting to draw even more attention. Because of the girl, some people are staring and trying to figure out what is happening. 

“This is just so exciting,” the girl gushes. 

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to get back with her,” Natsu says, gesturing towards Lucy with his left hand. 

The girl waves a hand to dismiss the thought. “Oh, I didn’t mean to interrupt things with your cousin.”

He makes a face. “Cousin?”

Lucy’s heart drops. She does not want others thinking she is related to him in that sense. After all, they are dating. “Actually–” she begins. 

“Hey, can me and my friends get a picture with you?” the girl asks. “Please?”

Natsu looks at Lucy, as if asking for permission or to see if she minds. She merely shrugs in response. 

He looks back at the girl and holds up a single finger. “One photo. Then I get back to my date with my girlfriend.” 

The girl’s eyes grow wide. “G-girlfriend?!” She finally glances at Lucy, looking her up and down. “Well, I guess you could be prettier if you’re dating–”

“Could be?” Natsu scoffs. “Lucy’s absolutely beautiful and gorgeous. She can rock a dress or a pair of sweats. She doesn’t even hafta try!”

Lucy feels her cheeks heat up. Her boyfriend is saying embarrassing things to a complete stranger he did not meet until now! 

The girl merely blinks. “Oh…” 

Natsu scoots back his chair a little so he can stand up. “Like I said, only one picture. Then I wanna get back to Luce.” 

The girl snaps back to reality and nods eagerly. “Thank you!” 

He walks around the table and smooches the top of Lucy’s head. “Be back soon.” 

She cannot help but watch Natsu and the girls interact. They have him stand in the middle while they all crowd around him with a waiter as the photographer. Lucy can understand how fans can be and act around their idol. She is thankful Natsu can understand with fans are with her. 

“That was painless,” Natsu says as he slides back into his seat. 

“You’re a good guy,” she says. 

He softly smiles at her. “You’re not so bad yourself, Luce.”

She puffs her cheeks out. “Hey!” 

He chuckles. “I’m only kidding. You’re awesome.” 

She smiles a little.

“And, best of all, you’re mine,” Natsu adds with an ear to ear grin. 

“You’re mine, too,” Lucy says. 

“Have you decided what you want to order?” the waitress asks when she swings by the table. 

Lucy looks at Natsu. “You order first.” Then she looks at the waitress. “And you might want an extra notepad or two.” 

She seems confused. “What?”

Natsu eagerly rubs his hands together. “Okay, my order will be…”

x-X-x

Inside the bathroom and changing area, Lucy is finishing up tying her hair into two low twintails. She then checks over her appearance in the mirror, making sure everything is in order. She is wearing her favorite bikini set that is white and has pink hibiscuses.

While the couple was still at her place, Lucy was using the bathroom while Natsu was quick to grab something for her to swim in without her knowing. Mermaid Heel is a popular outdoor pool that has different areas for activities. The weather is absolutely perfect for it, too. 

Lucy leaves the small building and steps outside, spotting Natsu quickly. He is wearing a pair of red trunks that have black flames outlined in yellow along the bottom. His body certainly looks great and she cannot complain. “Natsu!” she says to get his attention. 

He looks over and his eyes grow wide. This is the least amount of clothes and coverage Natsu has seen Lucy in. “Luce…” 

She stops in front of him. “Yes?” 

He quickly averts his eyes from her cleavage to look at her face. “Uh, wh-whatcha wanna d-do first?”

“Cat got your tongue?” she teases. 

“Whaaat? Pfft, no.” As his cheeks turn pink, Natsu folds his arms across his chest. “As if.” 

Lucy giggles at his frazzled state of being. “Well, I think I’m up for the lazy river first. I do like drifting in a tube.” 

“Lead the way,” he says, gesturing with both hands as he bows at his waist. 

Instead, she takes his right hand with her left and starts walking. “Let’s go!” 

Along the way, Natsu cannot help but glare at everyone who ogles his girlfriend. They all should be minding their own business anyways. 

“So what will”-she glances over and notices his scowl-“What’s wrong?”

He looks at her, his sour expression disappearing. “Huh?”

“Do you not want to go into the lazy river?”

“No, it’s not that. Promise.”

She arches an eyebrow. “Then what is it?”

Natsu takes a deep breath and starts speaking quickly. “Because people are staring at you and you’re mine. Not mine mine though. I don’t own you or anything. But we’re dating so it’s kinda like that. And the same goes for you, too.

It only takes a little bit for her to process everything he just said. She merely smiles at him. “Then you shouldn’t have to worry about who’s staring because we’re dating.” 

His face lights up with a grin and he gives her hand a gentle squeeze. “I’m so damn lucky to have you.” 

“I mean, some people do call me Lucky Lucy,” she says dramatically. 

Mischievousness glints in Natsu’s eyes. “But you’re not the lucky one!” He quickly sweeps Lucy off her feet and carries her princess style into the start of the lazy river. 

x-X-x

Towards eight o’clock, Lucy and Natsu are cuddled up on her couch while watching a movie. After the busy and entertaining day, they are both happy to be lazy for a change. He is lying on his back while she is lying on top of him, the front of her against him. 

“I’ve had a fun day,” she says suddenly. 

Looking away from the screen, he looks down at her. “Really?”

She nods, her head rubbing against his chest. “I can honestly say that it’s been a great birthday.”

“Oh, that reminds me!” Natsu grabs the nearby remote and pauses the movie. 

Lucy raises her head to look at him. “What is it?” 

“There’s another surprise!” 

She is certainly surprised. “Another one? I thought the last one was the pizza.”

“This’ll be the last one.” He smooches her head before sliding out from under her, rushing into the kitchen. 

She sits up with a leg tucked underneath her. She has no clue what he has up his sleeve. 

Natsu strolls back into the room with something cradled in both hands. It is a cupcake with pink icing and a single blue candle that is lit. 

Lucy can feel herself tearing up. “Natsu…” 

“Happy birthday, Luce,” he says warmly. 

She comes undone and starts crying. 

“L-Luce!” He sets down the cupcake on the nearby table and sits down next to her. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

She throws her arms around his neck and continues to cry. “Th-thank you.” She sniffles loudly and leans back to look at his face. “Thank you so much.” 

He smiles and wipes away her tears with his thumbs. “Anything for you, Luce.”

“You’re the best boyfriend ever. I can’t ask for anyone better.” 

Natsu gently presses his forehead against hers. “There’s nobody else I’d rather date either.” 

After she is able to recompose herself, Lucy leans away and looks down at the cupcake. It might be a little gesture, but it means so much to her. 

“So are you gonna blow out the candle for your birthday wish?” Natsu asks. 

She looks at him. “I can’t think of anything to wish for. I’m happy with what I have around me. I’m happy with what I have going for me. I’m happy I have you…” Something comes to mind and she grabs the cupcake. Closing her eyes, she makes her wish before blowing out the candle. 

“Whatcha wish for?” he inquires. 

Lucy lowers the cupcake and looks at him. “If I tell you, then it won’t come true.” 

He pouts. “Fine. I see how it is.” 

She pulls out the candle and boops his nose with the end that was in the cupcake, getting some icing on him. “I guess you’ll have to stick around and find out what I wished for.” 

Natsu grins. “You can count on that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: Thank you all for bearing with me! Writing and work have been a thing :P As well as life. I still live at home, but the fiancé just moved! I can literally walk to his place from my work!! So I’ve been busy helping him settle and haven’t been writing as much. 
> 
> A/N Part 2: Anywayssss, since it has been awhile since I updated CAF last, y’all get a longer chapter than normal! Woo~ And just so y’all know, that’ll be the end to that arc! I think I know which one I want next!! 
> 
> A/N Part 3: Omg, sooo many of y’all loved that last chapter! Especially that “baby scene” XD Although, not gonna lie, that scene happened with the fiancé and I not long after we started dating! He has some Natsu-like qualities and he’s great inspiration for writing what a love interest should do/say! Especially when it comes down to Natsu XD
> 
> A/N Part 4: Also, some of y’all were thinking Natsu would have thrown Lucy a birthday party. Even with some friends. But I reasoned that Natsu wanted to be “selfish” in a way and have Lucy all to himself for the day!


	20. Chapter 20

The following Monday, Lucy is alone at her place. Since she woke up around eight o’clock, she has practically been writing non-stop. Now it is after noon and she is still going with an idea she had while dreaming. She is all sorts of fired up to get it out of her system, especially because of the twist ending she wishes she thought of while awake. 

Her phone starts going off, letting her know Natsu is calling because of the assigned ringtone he has. Lucy grabs her phone from the nearby spot on the couch and answers it. 

“Good afternoon, beautiful,” he says. 

Lucy immediately knows something is up just from what he said. “What did you do now?” 

“Wha”-his voice cracks-“aaat? Luce, I didn’t do anything.” 

“When you call me and say something like that, I know something’s up.” 

Natsu chuckles. “You know me so well.” 

“Sooo… ?” she prompts. 

“Well, since you’re asking, is there any chance you could do me a favor?” 

“That might depend on what the favor is.” 

“So I left a jacket at your place. I need it.” 

“Why can’t you come and get it?” 

“Because they won’t lemme leave the studio,” Natsu whines.

“Oh, you have a shoot today?” Yesterday he mentioned he will be busy with work, but he did not specify which job. 

“Yeah. I’m hoping you’re at your place and can bring me my jacket.” 

Lucy starts glancing around, just in case she can spot it. “Where is it?” 

“Hanging up in our closet.” 

“My closet,” she corrects with a small smile on her lips, standing up to walk into her bedroom. 

He snorts. “Whatever you say, Luce.”

“So where is it hanging up? Off to the side or in the middle?”

“Left side.” 

“And what does it look like?” 

“I’ll explain once you start looking. It’ll be easier that way.” 

Lucy makes her way over to her closet and opens the doors. She looks over to the left, noticing Natsu’s small collection has grown a little it. “Now what?” she asks. 

“It’s dark grey. Military inspired style. Jacket with no hood.” 

With a free hand, Lucy goes through the hangers until she spots something she believes is the match. She grabs it off of the rack and holds it out to examine. “Does it have silver buttons and a lot of pockets?” 

“Yep!” 

“Do you want me to send a picture to you just to make sure?”

“I’m positive you grabbed the right one. It’s the only one like it I have in there.” 

“So now what?”

“Nooow you drive over to the studio.” 

“I don’t know where it is.” 

“If only we had the technology for me to send you the needed info,” Natsu sasses. “Like over text or something.” 

Lucy rolls her eyes even though he cannot see her. “It’s not smart to be sarcastic with the person doing you a favor. Especially if that person is your girlfriend.” 

“But you’re my favorite weirdo!” 

She smiles softly, having grown slightly fond of the little nickname. “And you’re my favorite weirdo.” 

“Great! So I’ll see you soon then.” 

“I look decent enough so all I have to do is put shoes on.” With the jacket still on the hanger, Lucy moves towards her bed. 

“You’re the best, Luce! Oh, if somebody asks what you’re doing there when you get in, just say you’re there for the one-thirty shoot. They’ll help you out and show you where I’m out.” 

“Wait, I just can’t text you when I get there and you come out to get the jacket?” She tosses it onto her bed and starts looking for a pair of shoes to wear with her current attire. 

“They won’t lemme leave the studio, Luce,” he groans dramatically. “Even for outside in the parking lot.” 

“Wow, that’s really no fun.” 

“Grr, I gotta go. They’re calling me over. I’ll text you the address and see you soon! Bye, Luceee!” After that, he hangs up. 

Lucy tosses her phone onto his jacket and grabs a pair of shoes. “He can be such an idiot at times…” she mumbles to herself. “But he’s my idiot…” 

x-X-x

Twenty or so minutes later when she arrives at the studio, Lucy parks her car. Grabbing the jacket and folding it over an arm, she leaves her car and locks it behind her. After walking into the building, she walks up to a girl with glasses sitting behind the desk. 

“My name is Laki,” she introduces. “What can I do for you?”

“I’m here for the one-thirty shoot,” Lucy replies. “I have–”

“Ah, Mr. Dragneel said you’d be arriving! Come along!” 

The next thing Lucy knows, she is being ushered away by Laki. They make their way past busy people, some workers from the studio and those who appear to be models. 

“Wait, I’m here to see Natsu,” Lucy begins to explain, thinking there is some confusion. 

“He’s busy with some solo shooting at the moment,” Laki says. “You can join him later.” 

“But I’m here to–”

“Yes, we know why. Like I said, Mr. Dragneel notified us.” 

Lucy finds it a little weird that her boyfriend is being referred to in such a formal manner. After all, he is far from formal. 

Laki leads the way to a chair that is in front of a hair and makeup station. A man with dark skin is currently tending to the different products at his disposal. 

“Cancer!” Laki greets as she and Lucy stop by the chair. 

The man turns around. “Yes?” 

Laki pats Lucy on her right shoulder. “Here she is! Take good care of her now or else Mr. Dragneel will hear about it!” With that, Laki leaves without another word. 

Lucy is trying her best to remain calm. “What’s happening?” she asks, looking at Cancer. 

“It’s hair and makeup time for you!” he explains casually, and motions to the empty chair. “So take a seat!” 

She blinks in surprise. “Do what now?” 

Cancer gently guides her to sit down. “Come on now. We can’t hold up the shoot now, can we?” 

Lucy’s mind is racing a mile a second as she tries speaking. “But Natsu-Jacket-What-Happening–”

“Easy now…” Cancer coaches, wanting to settle her nerves. 

She holds onto the jacket tightly, her hands gripping the fabric. She takes a deep calming breath before letting it out. “What is happening?” Lucy asks slowly. 

While talking, Cancer gets started working on her. “So you don’t know? Well, Mr. Dragneel was supposed to be photographed with another model, but she had to cancel last minute due to a family emergency. No way around that. To make sure the shoot could go on, Mr. Dragneel said he had a replacement in mind named Lucy. He assured the photographer he could get her here promptly.” 

Lucy connects the dots. “He told me he needed a jacket for the shoot and I had to bring it over for him…”

“He already has everything he needs here for the shoot though.” Then Cancer makes the connection. “So he did have a way to make sure you got here soon!” 

Something dawns on Lucy, hitting her hard. “I’m the replacement model?!” 

“Of course!” 

Panic settles over her. “B-but I don’t model!” 

“Mr. Dragneel believes otherwise,” Cancer assures her. 

She grows flustered. “H-he just said that because–”

“Knock, knock,” an unfamiliar voice says since there is no door to knock on.

Cancer turns to look at the woman with dark hair. “Just in time, Libra.” 

She holds up a short black dress. “For the model.” 

“I’m not a model,” Lucy mutters under her breath. “I’m not”“Ooo, do I get to wear that?”

Libra nods. “Yes.” 

“It’s cute!” Lucy gushes. 

“And you’ll get to wear it soon!” Cancer says. 

x-X-x

Alone in the space, Lucy is looking herself over in the mirror, slightly surprised by her reflection. Her hair is down, but straightened out to its full length. She is wearing makeup, but it is not overpowering. The fitted black dress she is wearing really shows off her bodacious curves. The heels help with her posture and complete the look. 

“Imagine if my fans could see me now…” she murmurs to herself. 

“You’ve got one looking atcha now,” Natsu says, his voice coming from Lucy’s left. 

She turns to look and is absolutely floored, practically melting at the sight of him. He is wearing a fitted black tuxedo and looks incredibly dashing. Quite frankly, he looks hot beyond all belief.

He looks her up and down with a lazy grin. “You sure got dressed up to visit me,” he says with a wink. 

She walks over to him and points a finger to his chest. “You know exactly what you did so don’t play dumb with me, Mr. Dragneel.” 

Natsu holds his hands up. “Guilty as charged.” 

“Why didn’t you just tell me the truth from the start?” Lucy questions. 

“I had to have some fun somehow,” he chuckles. 

“You tricked me!” she gasps. 

“And I totally gotcha,” he cackles. 

Lucy folds her arms under her chest, popping a hip out in a sassy way. “Maybe I shouldn’t help you with this shoot then…” 

Worry sparks in his eyes. “Aw, c’mon, Luce! It’ll be fun!” 

She pretends to be disinterested. “I don’t know…” 

“I think it’ll be a great thing for us to do,” Natsu continues, hoping she will be fully on board. “And I’m sure you’d rather be paired with me rather than Flirtsalot.” 

“Flirtsalot?”

He rolls his eyes dramatically. “He’s an annoying model who flirts with every woman he sees. Some like it, others don’t.”

“Ugh, sounds like someone I used to know,” she groans. 

“Enough about him.” Natsu looks at her with his best puppy dog eyes. “Please?”

She laughs. “Of course!” 

He grows excited. “Woo! I’m all fired up now!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: I feel like it’s been forever since I updated D: Life has been hella busy. I’ve been working 6 days a week for the past few weeks :P But here’s the next chapter!! Woo~ Anyways, I’m gonna continue this in the next chapter for sure! I have the basics of this arc planned out, but I don’t wanna spoil it yet for y’all! Pssst. For those of you who have read MTAP, you’ll understand the Flirtsalot reference :D
> 
> A/N Part 2: When I posted this chapter to my Patreon Account, it ended up being my 100th post to that site! That was kinda exciting for me!! Like a little milestone :D Woo~


	21. Chapter 21

Lucy feels like she is surrounded by everything she is not accustom to in the photography world. From the gigantic white sweep background to the lights and reflectors. She feels somewhat lost. However, she has Natsu to guide her through it all. 

“Cooool, we have our models are set!” the loud photographer named Jason says. “Let’s get this started!” 

The duo gets into position and stands ready. Lucy’s job is very easy. All she has to do is basically keep her back towards the camera and pretend that she smells the cologne on Natsu’s neck. Although, she does not have to pretend because the cologne is quite pleasant. It is refreshing, much like Natsu’s personality. On the other hand, Natsu has to look at the camera and be mindful of his facial expression. 

“All right, work it, you two!” Jason says, firing away at the camera. “Give me emotion. Give me smell!”

Lucy cracks a grin at the silly words, her lips brushing against Natsu’s exposed skin. In response, his right hand automatically goes to her waist, pulling her flush against him. 

“Good, yes!” Jason encourages. “Give me more! I’m not feeling it now!” 

An idea pops in Lucy’s mind and she goes with the flow of things. While her left arm wraps around Natsu’s neck, she uses her right hand to tug at his tie. She goes to loosen the knot and slips it down. Her fingers expertly undue the top button, showing off more of his neck, and remain close to his collar. 

“Woo, I like it!” Jason shouts with excitement. “Keep at it!” 

She leans in more, her nose and lips brushing against more skin. Then Lucy inhales deeply, her stomach feeling like butterflies are zooming around. “You smell really good…” she whispers softly, her warm breath tickling

Natsu’s grip on her waist merely tightens just the slightest. He cannot risk speaking because he might throw off Jason’s groove. He has focus and keep the expression Jason will want for the shot. 

Jason gasps. “Sooo coooool! Yes!” He keeps firing his camera. “This is what I want! Yes! Gah, this is so great!” 

Lucy is not sure how much time passes before the shoot is wrapped up. 

“And that’s it!” Jason announces, satisfied with what he captured. “Thanks, everybody!”

Lucy removes her hands from her boyfriend and just drops them to her sides. 

“So we’re good?” Natsu asks, speaking for the first time since the shoot started. 

“Yes!” Jason confirms. 

In a fluid motion, Natsu gently grabs the sides of Lucy’s head and plants one on her. He makes it deep and long, attempting to make up for the time he could not kiss her senseless. 

She is utterly flustered, unable to react. Her arms remain right where they are because they feel like jelly. Her legs might as well be noodles because they are barely supporting her as is. 

Natsu pulls back and presses his forehead against hers. “You really had me going, Luce,” he whispers. “You made it really hard to concentrate.” 

“W-well, you just–” She stops talking to refill her lungs with air. She did not know she had been holding her breath until now. 

He chuckles softly. “Looks like I took your breath away.” 

“You’re so weird,” she says. 

“But I’m not the weirdo in this relationship,” he points out. 

“Pfft, as if!” Lucy giggles. 

The duo finally breaks apart.

“Hey, do you wanna get some food?” Natsu asks. “I’m hungry.”

“You’re always hungry.” 

“Food is so good though!” 

She considers it for a moment. “I get to choose what we eat.” 

His face lights up. “Sounds great! Let’s change and get going then!” 

They turn and leave the set, heading towards where they can get back into their normal clothes. 

“Princess!” a male voice says, snapping Lucy back to her past. 

She stops in place and looks over to her left, trying to believe she is actually seeing him. Loke Regulus is making his way towards her. He has since grown out his orange locks so now they are long and luscious. He still has his blue tinted glasses that he wears over his deep eyes. 

“L-Loke…” she murmurs, a weak attempt at convincing herself that he is real. 

“Oh, sweet princess!” Without a second thought, Loke picks up Lucy and twirls her around. “I’ve missed you so!” 

She pushes back, trying to put distance between them. “Hey, put me down!” 

“Your wish is my command.” He gently sets her down on the ground and takes one of her hands to kiss it with his lips. “My celestial princess, your dashing knight in shining armor has come!” 

Lucy tears her hand away and wipes the back of it against her dress. “I’m more into dragons than knights.” 

However, her words simply go over his head. “To what do I owe the pleasure if you gracing me with your presence?” 

“She’s here with me!” Natsu says, finally finding his voice. He had been too caught up in the moment to say anything before. 

Loke arches an eyebrow at him. “With you?” he scoffs. “Why you?” 

“Because he asked me to model with him,” Lucy harrumphs, folding arms under her chest. “I’m his girlfriend.” 

Loke’s jaw just about drops to the floor and he looks at Natsu for confirmation. “G-girlfriend? You’re dating”-he motions to Lucy with crazy gestures-“her?!”

A cocky grin forms on Natsu’s lips, but he does not say a word. 

Then Loke starts laughing, holding his stomach. “Y-you two almost had me going. There’s no way the lovely Lucy would date someone like Natsu.” 

“Grr, and why’s that?” Natsu challenges. 

“Because she’s Lucy,” is his simple explanation. 

“We are dating,” Lucy affirms. “We’ve been dating.” 

Loke stares at her. “Really… ?”

“Really,” she confirms. 

Loke turns his gaze to look at Natsu. “So the girlfriend you’ve mentioned before…” But his voice trails off. 

“Has always been Lucy,” he states. “Anywaysss, how do you and Luce know each other?”

Loke blinks. “Did my princess not tell you?”

“I’m not your princess,” Lucy hisses. “I never was.”

Natsu glances back and forth between the two, feeling totally left out of the loop with their history. 

“Well, we were supposed to get married...” Loke says coyly.

Natsu and Lucy both have different reactions to Loke’s statement. While his eyes grow wide and his jaw drops open, she harrumphs and rolls her eyes.

Loke reaches out and take her hands in his. “I suppose it’s never too late–”

“We were never going to happen anyways,” Lucy deadpans, tearing her hands out of his grasp. “Even with an arranged marriage.”

“Arranged marriage?” Natsu finally squeaks.

Loke looks genuinely surprised. “Oh, so she really didn’t tell you…” 

“And how does one casually bring that up in a conversation with their significant other, hmm?” Lucy questions. “Oh, by the way, Natsu, I used to be engaged to this guy named Loke. It might have been an arranged marriage, but I didn’t have any romantic feelings for him. Anyways, can we cuddle now or what?”

Taken back by her words, Loke has no response. 

Natsu’s growling stomach breaks up the tension. While laughing he pats it. “Whelp, I guess it’s time Luce and I get going.” 

Loke looks at Natsu with little emotion. “We need to talk.” 

He blinks. “Now?”

“No, not now,” Lucy says. “Not ever. You have no reason to talk to him about me, Loke.” 

“And why’s that?” he challenges. 

“Because you should have no part in the current relationship we have.” 

“What makes you think he’s good enough for you?”

Lucy is surprised by his words. “Excuse me?”

“I wasn’t good enough for you back then. What makes you think Natsu is now?”

Vexation boils up inside of Lucy’s veins. “Because I’m the one who gets to decide for my future,” she says in an unsettling calm tone. “No one else. I won’t let that happen again.” 

“But, Lucy–”

“No buts,” she interrupts, coming off harsher than she meant to. Then she takes a deep calming breath and looks at Natsu, her lips parted open at the sight she is seeing. 

He is remaining silent, avoiding eye contact by staring at his feet. 

Lucy finds the sight unsettling because he is not acting like his normal self. “Natsu… ?”

He does not respond. 

“Natsu?” she asks again. 

His head jerks up and he looks at her. “Huh?”

“Are you all right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” However, his tight fists down at his sides do not loosen up. 

Lucy reaches out to touch his shoulder, and he instantly becomes less stiff. “Hey,” she says. 

He gives her a weak smile. “I’m fine.” 

She links arms with him, holding his arm against her chest. “Let’s get going.” With that, she leads the way and he simply follows her. Neither of two says a word to Loke who just stays quiet and watches them leave. 

Switches clothes is easy enough, and the couple leaves the studio hand in hand. Natsu is wearing the jacket Lucy originally brought for him. 

“Hey, Natsu?” she says suddenly. 

He gives her hand a little squeeze. “Yeah?”

She takes a deep breath before speaking. “One day I know I’ll be comfortable telling you about my past. Unfortunately, I’m not sure when that will–”

Natsu engulfs Lucy in a sudden hug, holding her close. “Take as much time as you need, Luce. I’ll be ready when you want to talk.”

She blinks back tears. “Thank you…” 

Once again, Natsu’s stomach rumbles and adds humor to the tender moment. 

Lucy chuckles. “All right, it’s time for food!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Finally got around to updating D: Life has been hella busy. I’ve been working 6 days a week for the past couple weeks :P With some more to come… But here’s the next chapter!! Woo~


	22. Chapter 22

After eating at the restaurant, Lucy and Natsu are back at her apartment. She is taking up a space on the couch to write with her laptop while he is lying down, taking up two spaces. He is snoring up a storm while he is in dreamland. 

Lucy glances over at him when he snores rather loudly. A small smile tugs her lips upwards. Even when he is asleep is can still be noisy and loud. The moment is picture perfect–

Only now it hits her. She and Natsu have been dating over a month now, and she has yet to post a photo of her and Natsu. Or even just Natsu by himself. Of course, she has been sending Snapchats to friends of hers. However, no fans have seen a trace of any of them. 

So why not make it public to her fans and followers? After all, some time has passed. 

Lucy reaches for her phone and readies the camera, aiming it at Natsu. Right before she takes the picture, he spazzes out and rolls off the couch with a loud thud. “Owww…” he groans. 

“Are you all right?” Lucy asks with worry. It was not a long fall, but he still could have injured himself somehow. After all, he is still Natsu and he is always able to cause trouble.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Remaining on the floor, Natsu sits up and faces her. “Fine.” 

“What happened?”

“I fell off the couch.”

An amused grin tugs at her lips. “I meant, why did you? What were you dreaming about?” 

He is quiet for a moment, recalling what happened in his dreams. Something strange is in his eyes. “Dunno,” Natsu finally says. 

“You don’t know… ?” she asks uneasily. She is not buying it at all. 

“Was I saying anything?” he asks, slightly changing the topic. “Like, at all?” 

Lucy shakes her head. “You were fine while sleeping.” Then she puffs out her cheeks. “You falling off ruined the picture though.”

He tilts his head to one side. “Picture?” 

She wiggles her phone through the air for emphasis. “I was going to take a picture of you, but you, like, freaked out and fell.” 

“Ha, I’m so awesome that I avoided a picture while sleeping!” 

She pouts. “You’re no fun...” Then, just to mess with him, she quickly snaps a photo of him. The sound of a camera clicking betrays what she just did. There is no chance of denying it. 

“Hey!” 

“Now it’s time to share this with the whole world,” Lucy teases. 

He flinches. “Whole world?”

“I think it’s time to show off my so-called awesome boyfriend.” Although, after looking at the photo, she decides she will not post it. She wants something else for her first post of Natsu. Maybe even of them together–

“You can’t do that!” he says abruptly. 

She is surprised by his sudden outburst. “Why not?”

“Er, because. Because. That’s why.” 

“Because why… ?” she pries. Now she knows something is off with him. He had not been himself around Loke earlier either. “What’s going on with you today?”

“I’m fine.” 

Lucy arches an eyebrow at him. “Really? Because you didn’t argue back with Loke earlier. I’ve seen you do that with complete strangers. You always take a stand. But for some reason, you didn’t with him.”

He realizes she had been more observant than he thought. 

“And now you’re acting like this…” She puts down her phone and moves her laptop to the side so she can give Natsu her full attention. “What aren’t you telling me?”

He swallows hard before standing up and stepping towards her. He bends down at his waist to kiss the top of her head. “I think it’s time I went home. Getting late and all.”

Her eyes grow wide and she jerks her head up to look at him. “What?” she breathes. 

Natsu is already gathering his belongings from his phone to his jacket. 

Taking in the scene, she is absolutely bewildered. Stunned speechless in fact. Lucy remains motionless on the couch. She is not entirely sure what to do or how to act in this situation. 

He is already by the front door, slipping his shoes on. Natsu opens the door and walks out. “Bye,” he says without looking back, and closes the door behind him. 

Tears bubble up and Lucy starts crying, clamping her eyes shut tightly. “Y-you idiot…”

**x-X-x ******

“That doesn’t sound like Natsu at all,” Levy comments as she and a miserable Lucy sit together on the couch.

In response, Lucy weakly nod and eats away at the container of chocolate ice cream in hand. Minutes after Natsu had left, she called Levy and asked for her to come over. Luckily, it did not take long for her to arrive. Lucy needs help and she hopes Levy can give her some answers. After all, she has known Natsu longer than her because of Gajeel. 

“And he hasn’t called?” Levy inquires. “Or even texted?”

With a mouth full of ice cream, she shakes her head. 

Levy ponders things over for a moment. “Boys are confusing,” she sighs. 

“Says the one who’s going to marry one,” Lucy points out, and groans. “I don’t even know if I’m still dating one…” 

“Aww, Lu. I’m pretty sure you two are still together. With what Natsu did, that doesn’t sound like his style of a breakup.” 

“But he hasn’t dated before. It could have been a breakup.” She sticks another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth. The only upside to what happened is she is experiencing a different sort of heartbreak unlike the others she has gone through. It is raw, and feels deep. She cannot put an exact finger on it, but she feels a little empty inside. Right where her happiness should be, but it is not there. Gone.

Meanwhile, Levy taps a finger to her chin. “I still can’t understand why he acted the way he did though. That’s not the typical Natsu I’ve come to know, that’s for sure.”

“Which is why I was hoping you could help me. You’ve known him longer than me.”

“But I haven’t gotten to know him as well as you have,” Levy points out. “You’re his girlfriend.”

Lucy huffs. “I could be his ex for all I know and I’m just too stupid to take a hint.”

Levy merely gives her a look. “If you weren’t in this mindset you would think what you’re saying is crazy.” 

“Sign me up for the Crazy Express then. Next stop, Brokenheartsville.” Can Lucy even call this a case of broken heart? She has had her heart broken a few times, but never by someone she has known for as short of a time period like Natsu. Oh, Natsu… She blinks back tears. 

“You’re going to get dehydrated at this rate if you keep crying.” Levy hands her some tissues. “Here you go, Lu.” 

“Thanks.” Lucy uses a free hand to dab away the tears before blowing her nose. “And I’m pretty sure that’s impossible.” Then she tosses the used tissue onto the floor with the ever growing pile. Maybe the whole floor will be covered by the time she is feeling better. 

“Gajeel has done some stupid things in the past,” Levy starts. “I have, too. We aren’t perfect. But we’ve learned to get through things.”

“And pretty soon you’ll be getting married.” Even with her situation, Lucy is still happy for the engaged couple. There is no way she will be bitter about their happiness. She can only hope she can have what they have someday. She wants it for herself. 

Levy quickly checks her cell phone. “Huh, I haven’t heard back from Gajeel.” Then she puts it down on the couch so she can keep an eye on the screen if it lights up for any reason. “I hope that’s a good sign he and Natsu are talking.” 

That catches Lucy’s interest. “Why would they be talking?”

“Because I told Gajeel to talk with Natsu just like I’m talking with you, Lu. Maybe he can talk some sense into Natsu. Or learn what’s going on.” 

Lucy’s heart squeezes. She grows hopeful that she will get Natsu back. “You’re the best, Levy!” 

She pats her on the back and giggles. “You’re not so bad yourself.” 

That gets Lucy to crack a smile. “You’ve been hanging around Gajeel too much. That sounds like something he’d say.” 

“One can never have too much Gajeel in their life,” she teases. 

“And one can say the same about Natsu–” Lucy’s smile falters and she looks down at the ice cream. “Natsu…” 

“Chin up, Lu. Things will get better. Soon enough, things will be how they were before. Or even better!” 

“Maybe,” she agrees glumly. 

“Hey, I’m pretty sure that right now Gajeel and Natsu are–” Levy begins. 

The front door is practically kicked down, causing the two girls to jump in surprise. With Natsu in tow, Gajeel strides into the apartment. “I’m not gonna letcha screw up your first relationship, dammit!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I’m soooooo sorry for not updating sooner! Life has been kicking my butt D: But here’s the next chapter!! Woo~ So there was some NaLu drama. Not gonna lie, I still have no idea where it came from XD I originally didn’t plan on Natsu walking out like that!
> 
> A/N Part 2: Not related to this fic, but wishyouweremedontya from FFnet made me a cover for RPRT and I LOVE IT SO MUCH :D I’ve already changed the cover on my FFnet account!! So I’m on a happy high from that :D THANK YOU AGAIN!!


	23. Chapter 23

“Let go of me!” Without a doubt, flames would be spouting from Natsu’s mouth if he had the ability to breathe fire. 

Gajeel brings Natsu around and lifts him into the air, holding him by the scruff of his jacket. “C’mon, you lil’ shi–”

“Put me down, Lug Nuts!” he bellows. 

“Cool it, Salamander!” he chides. 

“I only told Gajeel to talk with Natsu…” Levy says numbly to Lucy. “Talk…”

She is trying to wrap her head around what is happening as well. It is a lot to process.

Upon seeing Lucy’s tearstained face, Natsu freezes up from head to toe. “Luce!” He scrambles away from Gajeel, drops to the floor with ease, and makes his way over to her. “Hey, what’s wrong?” 

“You should know,” she says stiffly. 

He falters in his pace and stops short of her. “What?”

Gajeel comes back from closing the door that had been left wide open. “You’re the reason, dumbass. So talk and make things better with Bunny Girl.” He folds his arms across his broad chest. “It’s weird seeing you two like this.” 

Natsu does not retaliate because of what Gajeel referred to him as. It goes over his head. Instead, he keeps his focus on Lucy. He is trying to piece things together. Then they fall into place. “Shit,” he whispers. 

Lucy sniffles loudly.

An uncomfortable silence falls over the whole apartment. 

“What did I tell you, Salamander?” Gajeel growls. “Communicate with her. Properly.”

Using it as a defense mechanism, Lucy digs out a spoonful of more ice cream. On the other hand, she does not feel like communicating with Natsu. 

“I’ll be right back.” Then Levy snatches away the ice cream and spoon from Lucy and stands up to walk into the kitchen. 

“Hey!” Lucy whines. 

“Talk, Lu!” Levy says over her shoulder. 

Lucy looks up at Natsu. “If you’re here to properly breakup with me–”

“Why would I do that?” Natsu is astonished those words even left her lips. He is still processing what she had been saying before he interrupted her without meaning to. “I’ll never wanna do that!” 

“Your actions weren’t entirely clear when you left here earlier,” she points out. 

Natsu looks back at Gajeel for help. 

He merely arches an eyebrow. 

Keeping his gaze on his cousin, Natsu motions to Lucy dramatically.

“So talk,” is what has to say about the matter. 

Inhaling deeply, Natsu looks back at Lucy. When his face starts turning red, he exhales. Then he rubs the back of his head. He is stalling. 

Levy strolls back into the room and stands by her fiancé’s side. She knows Lucy has enough backbone to not need her support from the couch. 

“Sooo I’ve been going through a few things,” Natsu begins. “I thought I could handle it on my own. Not let ’em get to me too much. I guess I’ve been cracking.” 

Her mood changes. “Has something been bothering you?” Lucy asks. 

Natsu takes the spot Levy had been occupying earlier since he wants to be close to her. He stares down at his hands resting on his lap. “Loke said something earlier that I’ve been hearing a lot. Like, from a lot of different people. People I don’t even know.” He glances at Lucy with a cracked grin. “I’m sure your fans have your best interest in mind, but they can be quite defensive.”

She is confused and braces herself for the worst. “What do you mean?” 

“They want what’s best for you and… they don’t think that’s me.” 

She instantly flares up. “What?”

“He’s been getting some hate from your fans,” Gajeel says, wanting to speed things up so the couple will stop moping around. 

“Your fans don’t like that I’m dating Ashley.” 

Lucy takes a calming breath. “They might be my fans, but they don’t decide things for me. If I want to date you, then I’m going to date you. End of story.” 

Natsu’s face lights up. 

“I’ll try addressing the matter soon. I promise. And they’ll just have to accept what I’m doing.” She bites her lower lip. “I’m sure some won’t stop, but I hope you can do your best to ignore the hate. Or don’t even acknowledge it.” 

In the blink of an eye, Natsu has his arms around Lucy for a tight embrace. He buries his face into her neck. “Thanks, Luce,” he whispers, his warm breath tickling her skin. 

She hugs him back. “You can always tell me if something is bothering you, Natsu. I’ll be ready whenever you want to talk. About anything. I promise.” 

They break apart after a moment, and Natsu keeps close to her so their thighs are touching. 

“Do you feel better now?” Lucy asks. “Even a little bit?”

“A lot actually,” he replies genuinely. 

She softly smiles. “So what else?”

A bashful look comes across his face for a few seconds. “So some people think I’m dense when it comes to girls. It’s kind of like a long running joke about me. But I know how things work. I know”-he shoots Gajeel a cold look-“how sex happens and what it involves.” 

Lucy is slightly surprised. Now is the first time she has even heard about it. She never would have thought of guessing it before. 

Shocked her own fiancé is a culprit, Levy gasps. “You’ve been teasing him about that?”

“Just poking at him a bit,” he admits.

Natsu turns his attention back to Lucy. “Some of the guys have been poking at me because we haven’t had sex yet. But we’ve talked about it before. I know how you feel.” He does not remind her with Levy and Gajeel present, just in case they do not know. “I’m fine with waiting. They just don’t understand that.” 

“Sex doesn’t make the relationship,” Lucy assures him. 

“It helps,” Gajeel chuckles. 

“Sex _doesn't ___make the relationship, Gajeel,” Levy scolds.

“Oi, don’t get mad at me, Shrimp,” he says a little defensively. He does not want to face the wrath of his fiancée. She might be petite in size, the almost opposite of him, but she packs her own kind of punch. 

“I guess it was getting on my nerves more than usual…” Natsu says. “Maybe it’s because I have a girlfriend now. Maybe it’s because of the other stress from your fans.” 

“I’m surprised you haven’t thrown a punch at the people who have been teasing you about it,” Lucy admits. 

“I didn’t think I’d hafta just to get them to stop,” he huffs, shooting Gajeel a look. 

“If I recall correctly,” Levy begins, tapping a finger to her chin as if deep in thought, “Gajeel and I didn’t have sex until he was the one all right with it. I waited until he was comfortable with it.”

Natsu looks utterly bewildered. “Whaaat... ?”

“O-oi, why are ya telling him that, Shrimp?” Gajeel questions, clearly frazzled about the topic.

She folds her arms under her chest. “Because I don’t like you teasing him about it.”

“The last time I teased him was about two days ago!” he argues. “That’s in the past!” 

Natsu thinks for a moment. “I’m pretty sure he’s telling the truth…” Then he shrugs, a devilish smile on his lips. “But I can’t be sure. So many people have teased me they’ve all kinda blended together.” 

“Why ya lil’ d–” Gajeel begins. 

“Gajeel!” Levy scolds in a harsh tone. 

He flinches at the sound of her voice. “Y-yeah?” 

“If I hear that you’re still teasing him,” she starts to threaten, “then no sex for a week.” 

His eyes nearly pop out of his head. “A week?” 

“Do you want me to make it two… ?” 

Gajeel will be sweating bullets soon. He merely shakes his head in reply, keeping his mouth shut. 

Then Levy smiles sweetly at him. “Good!” 

“And I thought Erza was scary,” Natsu whispers to Lucy. 

“Who’s Erza?” she asks. 

He blinks in confusion. “You don’t know who Erza is?” 

Lucy thinks it over. “I don’t think I’ve met an Erza before…” 

“She can be real scary at times,” Gajeel comments as her shudders a little bit. 

“Erza Scarlet owns a flower shop that’s next door to one of my favorite antique shops,” Levy adds. “She’s real sweet once you get to know her.” 

“Maybe I’ll have to meet her someday,” Lucy muses. 

“Let’s not rush into things now,” Natsu cautions. 

Levy rolls her eyes. “She’s not _that ___bad.”

Now Lucy is a little curious to meet Erza someday. “Hey, Gajeel?” she asks, looking at him. 

“What is it, Bunny Girl?” 

“Thank you for bringing Natsu over.” 

“Literally,” Natsu grumbles under his breath. 

Gajeel cracks a grin. “No problem. It was kinda fun dragging his sorry ass around.” 

Natsu shoots him a look. “Don’t expect to do it again.” 

Levy clasps her hands together. “And now everything is better for you two, right?” 

Natsu slings an arm around Lucy and pulls her close, smooching the top of her head. “Aye, sir!” 

She merely smiles and snuggles into her boyfriend, happy they are better off now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: At least now everything is good again for NaLu :D Yay!! PS. I have no idea why Erza hasn't been introduced before now!! 
> 
> A/N Part 2: Oh, if y’all are interested and haven’t read yet, I had posted a fluffy one-shot called Secret. It features NaLu of course :D I wrote it in order to make up some of the more angsty chapters I’ve had for MTAP and CAF haha. Enjoy~
> 
> A/N Part 3: As a side note, I apologize for the delay. It’s been hectic this past week. My great grandmother, the matriarch of my mum’s side, had passed away. She was 101 so we knew it was going to happen, but it’s been hard. But we’ll make it through!


	24. Chapter 24

A few days later, Lucy is alone inside of her apartment. Natsu is working at his pizza delivery job so she has some time to herself. She is currently taking a break from writing, her laptop off to the side on the couch. With remote in hand, she is flipping through channels in attempt to find something interesting. 

A chef is cooking some chicken. There are after affects of a three car accident. A Golden Retriever family of four is driving around in a vehicle. A man is flipping a house to sell. 

Lucy checks her recordings in case there is something worthwhile there. She skips over the shows Natsu has for the ones she will prefer. “It’s like he already lives here…” she muses. 

She has debated inviting him to live with her, but has held off for now. They have not been dating long in the grand scheme of things and she does not want to rush anything. She wants to avoid the chance of scaring him off if he thinks she is rushing their relationship. Besides, neither of them has been in a relationship before let alone a serious one. 

Someone raps on the door twice, and Lucy turns to look. Thinking it is a package delivery person, she gets up and walks over to the door. When she opens it, she discovers she is wrong. 

Just outside the doorway is a tall man dressed in a black tailcoat suit. He has short-kept, white hair and facial hair in the form of trimmed beard. Dark sunglasses cover his eyes. 

“Capricorn,” Lucy manages to say after a moment. She had not been expecting to see him. 

He bows at the hip. “Miss Lucy.” 

“What are you doing here? Uh, not that I’m not happy to see you or anything.” 

“Your father wishes to see you.” Then removes his sunglasses so he can look directly at her. “He was involved in an accident.” 

The car accident on the news flashes through her mind. “What?” she whispers. 

“He is in somewhat critical condition,” he informs her. “He has been fading in and out of consciousness, but he always says your name when he is awake.” 

Lucy may not be close to her father, but she can still care about him as a human being. She does have some happy memories because of him. She is alive because of him. “Can you take me to him?” she asks, not giving it a second thought. 

“The car is out front.” 

“Let me go put on shoes.” She hurries off to her bedroom to find a pair to wear. She is wearing a cami and jeans so finding a pair of flats is easy enough. After grabbing a purse, Lucy sends Natsu a quick text in case he tries reaching her when he is free. 

Lucy: I have to go to the hospital. 

Rather than later at the hospital, she turns her phone on mute now before slipping it into her purse. Then she grabs her keys before leaving her bedroom and returning to Capricorn. They step out into the hallway, and Lucy locks up her apartment.

**x-X-x ******

At the hospital, Lucy and Capricorn are standing outside of Jude’s closed hospital room door. She is nervous. It has been years since she last spoke with her father, but here she is. 

“If you like, I can accompany you inside,” Capricorn offers. 

“I’d like that,” she admits. 

“Do you want to enter first?” 

She merely nods and takes a deep breath to calm her nerves. Mentally preparing herself, Lucy slowly opens the door and steps inside. She walks further into the room and stops at the foot of the bed. 

Jude is propped up on the bed with his eyes closed. There are some scratches from glass. Bandages are wrapped around his head and it seems his left arm is broken. Rather than wearing his typical full suit, he is in a hospital gown that has a diamond pattern to it. He is hooked up to some beeping machines and an IV. It is all a surreal sight for Lucy to take in. 

She snaps back to reality when she hears Capricorn close the door behind him. Feeling as though she is wading through water, she walks over to stand on Jude’s right side. “Hey,” she says softly. 

His dark eyes flutter open and focus on her. “Layla…” he murmurs, a faint smile on his lips. 

Lucy’s jaw tightens up and a ball forms in her throat. “No, it’s me. Lucy.” 

His smile grows a little bit. “Lucy. My Lucy.” 

“Hi, Dad.” 

“I’ve always wanted to see you again. I’ve missed you.” 

“I’ve missed you, too.” 

“My little girl…” Jude’s eyes begin to close. “My little Lucy…” 

She looks at Capricorn who is standing next to a wall, keeping out of the way. “Am I allowed to stay?”

“You may do whatever you like, Miss Lucy,” he replies. “No one else is to enter the room besides those from the hospital and us.” 

“What about paparazzi?” 

“We are keeping them at bay for now.” 

“Do they know what happened?” 

“The car accident has been covered by the news, but we are trying to ensure Mr. Jude’s name stays out of it.” 

“I guess certain people don’t need to know about the president of Heartfilia Enterprise in this case.” 

“But we made sure his daughter knew.” 

Lucy softly smiles. “Thank you. I’m glad I was told. I wouldn’t have known otherwise.” Then she looks back at her resting father. 

“I’m sure he wanted you to know. The two of you may have had a falling out, but he has done his best to keep tabs on you.” 

“Is that how you knew about my apartment?” 

“And then some.” 

“And then some?” She looks back at Capricorn. “What else does he know?”

“He owns every book you have written so far.” 

Her eyes grow wide with surprise. Lucy looks back and forth between Jude and Capricorn before finally stopping at Capricorn. “What?” she whispers. 

“He enjoys the works you publish under the penname of Ashley,” he continues. “Every copy he owns is signed by you as well. And”- Capricorn stops speaking for a moment-“Are you well, Miss Lucy?”

She sniffles. “Of course.” 

“But you are crying.” 

That explains why her cheeks feel wet. She uses the back of her hand to wipe away her fallen tears. “Why hasn’t he said anything to me before?” 

Capricorn approaches her with a handkerchief in hand. “Stubbornness is something that you have inherited from him.” 

A weak grin tugs at her lips and she takes it from him to use. “Thank you.” 

“I doubt he will tell you this, but he was an absolute wreck after you left the manor. He had thought he lost you forever, much like he lost your mother.” 

“I guess we just needed a break from each other,” Lucy muses. “Blow off some steam for a few years.” 

The room falls silent. The only sounds heard are steady beeps coming from some machines. 

“Do you believe the father and daughter relationship can be reestablished?” Capricorn asks after a moment. 

“I hope so. Well, I don’t see why not. It’ll be something for us to work at once he’s awake.” 

“Perhaps giving him a few days will be best. When he is more like himself.” 

She nods in agreement. “Was he involved in that three car accident?” 

“Yes. Some driver ran a red light and crashed into his vehicle. Then he hit another one from the force of the collision.” 

“Is everyone involved okay?” 

“I am not sure actually. Mr. Jude’s health has been my top priority since the accident occurred. I believe there are not any deaths.” 

Lucy looks down at her father. “At least things aren’t worse for him…” 

“Indeed.” 

She looks back at Capricorn. “How will the company be with him gone?” 

“Things will run smoothly as possible. Competitors will be left out of the loop. Those who need to know updates about his condition will be kept informed.” 

“That’s how he’ll want things to be.” 

“Rightly so.” 

Lucy keeps going back to the fact her father reads her works and knows about it. “Capricorn?” 

“Yes?”

“How does he know about my books? How does he even know I’m Ashley?” 

“You always enjoyed writing stories as a child and Ashley had been the name of your imaginary friend. After you had left the manor and a new author published as Ashley came up, it was easy for him to connect the dots.” Capricorn smiles a little bit. “After you published the first one, he bought a bookshelf to hold it. It’s been a growing collection ever since.”

Now Lucy might cry again. 

“He still does care about you. He just does not want to possibly lose you a second time.”

She dabs away at her newly formed tears. “I don’t want that either.”

Someone knocks on the door. 

“You may enter,” Capricorn says. 

A nurse with dark skin enters the room. “I’m just here to check vitals.” 

“Don’t let us get in your way,” Lucy assures her. 

“Are you okay, miss?” the nurse questions. 

She nods. “I’m just happy is all. They’re happy tears.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: At least there wasn’t a cliff hanger for an ending haha :P Sooo I decided to go with this arc for now. A bit more to come for sure. Clear things up. PS. If you guys read RPRT, it was only time for Lucy to visit Jude in the hospital :P
> 
> A/N Part 2: Also, because I reached 1k followers for MTAP, I published a one-shot called Spontaneous! As of now, I’ll continue it if I can come up with a decent plot for it. Or maybe I’ll focus on it after CAF or MTAP is finished… But in case some of y’all haven’t read it, I’d suggest checking it out!


	25. Chapter 25

Some hours later, Lucy is still at the hospital. Jude has since been conscious a few times, but only now he is staying awake. Capricorn is outside of the room so the father and daughter can have their privacy to talk. 

“But asking me to pick a favorite book of yours is like asking me to pick my favorite child!” Jude says. 

“But I am your only child!” Lucy points out, a smile on her lips. 

“Oh, good point. I guess that expression doesn’t work in this case.” 

The duo laughs. The atmosphere between them is enjoyable and pleasant. There is no trace of resentment or bitterness from the past. 

“Lucy, I think it’s time you went home,” Jude says. “You’ve had a long day.”

“Says the one in the hospital.” She pauses for a moment. “Are you going to be all right by yourself?”

“I’ll have Capricorn with me.”

“Don’t think that I won’t come by for more visits.” 

He smiles. “I’d like that.” 

Lucy stands up from the edge of the bed, steps towards her father, and lightly kisses his forehead. “Take care.” 

“You, too.” 

Waving goodbye, she grabs her purse and leaves the hospital room. When she closes the door behind her, she looks to her right to find Capricorn. 

He turns to face her. “Did the two of you have a pleasant talk?”

She nods. “We did. Thank you for bringing me here.” 

“You are most welcome, Miss Lucy.” 

With that, the duo makes their way to the exit. They are able to take an elevator down to the first floor and head for the main lobby. 

“Feel free to stop by when you please,” Capricorn says. “You are welcome at all hours because you are his daughter.” Now in public, he avoids saying specific names that can give away the Heartfilia family. 

“I’ll keep that in mi–”

“Lucy!” a familiar voice shouts with relief. 

She nearly jumps out of her skin from surprise. She turns to see Natsu standing at the front desk, looking stressed and haggard. He is dressed in his uniform for Makarov’s Pizzeria, but is only missing his hat. 

In the blink of an eye, Natsu is rushing away from the desk and heading right for her. 

Capricorn is quick to step in between them. Natsu ends up in an arm lock and falls to his knees. 

Lucy finally is able to use words. “C-Capricorn! Let him go!” 

“Miss Lucy, do you know him?” Capricorn questions, still keeping a hold of Natsu who is trying to process what is happening to him. 

“He’s my boyfriend!” 

Capricorn releases Natsu and helps straighten him out. Then he faces Lucy and bows his head. “My apologies. I saw someone racing for Miss Lucy and just reacted.” 

“Hey, you should show me how to do that move”-Natsu remembers why he is at the hospital in the first place-“Luce!” 

She flinches at his sudden loudness. “W-what?”

He engulfs her in a hug, holding her tightly against him. “I’ve been so worried about you!” He pulls back to look her over. “What happened? Are you okay? You seem fine.” 

“That’s because I am fine.” 

“But you said you were going to the hospital! Normal people who are fine just don’t randomly go to the hospital!” 

Lucy gasps. “Did you think I needed to be at a hospital for medical reasons?”

“What else was I s’posed to think when you text me that you hafta go to the hospital?” he just about screeches. “And then you didn’t answer any texts or calls when we tried getting a hold of you!” 

“We?” she asks.

“I was asking people if they knew about you from Gray to Levy! And it seemed like nobody knew what was going on!” Natsu takes a very deep breath to calm himself down. “We all thought something had happened to you…”

Raw emotions bubble up and Lucy starts crying. She is not accustom to so many people caring about her well-being. “I’m s-sorry.” She is not sure if she is sorry for the pointless worrying she put them through or for crying right now. 

“Hey, it’s okay,” Natsu coos gently to comfort her. He uses a hand to wipe away fallen tears. “You’re okay and that’s what matters.”

She sniffles loudly. “I’m sorry.” 

Once again, he hugs her tightly. He holds her head against his chest with one hand and uses his other to be around her waist. He smooches the top of her head and does not say a word. 

She clutches onto his shirt and cries even harder. All the emotions she is feeling right now are mixing together. She is overwhelmed by them. 

“Let it all out, Luce,” Natsu says in a hushed voice. 

She sobs until there are no more tears. Lucy takes calming breathes, trying to get herself back under control. 

Capricorn smiles softly. “I am delighted to see that Miss Lucy is in such caring hands.” Then he looks at Natsu. “Thank you for taking care of her.”

“Uh, who are you?” Natsu deadpans. “Have we met before?”

“We haven’t met before now. My name is Capricorn. I used to look after Miss Lucy when she was younger.”

“Like a nanny?” Natsu snorts. 

“Something of the sort,” Capricorn replies. 

Lucy giggles, recalling some fond memories she has of Capricorn. “Nanny is right.”

“Hey, feeling better?” Natsu asks. 

She pulls her head back to look at him. “I am. Thank you.” 

He presses a chaste kiss to her forehead. “Anything for you.” 

Lucy steps away from Natsu, but stays close to him. She takes the handkerchief Capricorn offers her to use. “Thank you.” 

“Wait, so what is going on?” Natsu asks, looking at his girlfriend. “Why are you?” 

“My father was in a car accident,” she replies, keeping her voice low. 

Natsu may not know why she does not talk about her father or past, but he is sure she has her reasons. He knows better than to pry sensitive information from her. 

“I would suggest speaking in private about any further information regarding Miss Lucy’s father,” Capricorn suggests. 

She nods in agreement and looks at Natsu. “Are you able to take me home? We can talk there.” 

“Sure. I don’t see why not.” 

Lucy faces Capricorn and hugs him. “Thank you. And take care of him while I’m gone.” 

“I can promise you that, Miss Lucy,” Capricorn says. 

When they break apart, Lucy slips her right hand into Natsu’s left. “I’m ready.” 

He gives her a gentle squeeze. “Sounds good.”

**x-X-x ******

Now at Lucy’s apartment, the duo is sitting on her couch. She refused to tell him anything while he had been driving. Besides, she had to reply to all of the missed texts and calls that she had gathered while her phone had been silenced. But now that Natsu is no longer behind the wheel, his full attention can be on her.

Lucy takes a deep breath before starting. “My last name is Heartfilia. I’m Lucy Heartfilia.” 

“Okay…” he says with uneasiness, not understanding what she is getting at. 

“As in Jude and Layla Heartfilia. She has since passed away, but he is the president of Heartfilia Enterprise.” 

Something clicks. “Hey, I’ve heard of that company. It’s a pretty big!” 

“Known all over the world,” Lucy adds. 

“Okay, so what if your dad–” He freezes up in an instant before his hands fly up to clutch the sides of his head. “Your dad. Heartfilia. Oh, shi–” Then he grows quiet. 

Lucy does not say a word. She does not want to interrupt his thought process. 

Finally, Natsu brings his eyes to look at her. It is clear to tell that he is still getting over the initial shock. 

“My father is a billionaire,” she says, stating the obvious out loud. 

“M-million…?” he stutters. 

“No, billion,” Lucy corrects. 

“Oh, I just thought I misheard you…” he says in a shaky voice. 

“My father is a billionaire, not me,” she clarifies. 

“That’s still crazy…”

She merely shrugs. “I suppose. But really–” She stops speaking when she notices Natsu is just staring at her. “What?”

“You’re so nonchalant about it all,” he snorts. 

“I mean, it’s the truth.” 

“But you’re still Luce.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Even now that I know a bit more about your past… Well, you’re still Luce to me. You’ll always be Luce to me. That’s just how you are.”

So what if she feels as though she might tear up? Her boyfriend is super sweet. She clearly did too much over thinking in how he might react to learning about her. In fact, he is handling things more than quite well. 

He flashes her a grin. “That’s one of the reasons why I love you.” 

Her heart skips a beat. “Y-you love me?” she whispers. 

Natsu chuckles. “I’m pretty sure that you knew that by now. Besides, you said that you loved me first.” 

Her breath hitches. “Wait, when? I don’t remember that.” She racks her brain, but no luck. She is completely stumped. 

“I figured you don’t because you didn’t remember telling me about Gonzales or the cakes you made. You said it that night when I tucked you into bed.” 

Lucy bites her lip. “I’m sorry I don’t remember that…” 

“Psst,” Natsu stage whispers. “This is the part where you say it to make up for it.” 

She playfully rolls her eyes. “Hey, Natsu?”

“Yeah, Luce?”

“I love you.” 

He smiles at her, adoration in his eyes. “I love you, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: Omg, it’s the 25th chapter to this fic! And it was meant to be a one-shot!! :D Can I just take the time to acknowledge how awesome y’all are? Like, omg! Thank you all sooo very much for reading this fic! :D
> 
> A/N Part 2: For those of y’all who are into Miraculous Ladybug, I published the first and chapter chapter to a short fic called A Litter of Joy! I’m still gonna majorly stick with FT, but I do love me some MLB! I have some more ideas lined up as well. So we’ll see when I get around to publishing those :P


	26. Chapter 26

Lucy knows better. She absolutely knows better. She is on Twitter, doing some research and looking up certain things. 

It seems like half of her fans like Natsu as her boyfriend, while the other half wants him out of the picture. It seems as though some paparazzi and even people like Millianna have posted some photos of the duo together. Two popular trends in her world are #NatleyForever and #NatleyNever. Clearly, Natley is the ship name for Natsu and Ashley. 

Although, now that Lucy thinks about it, she did have less spotlight time before she started dating Natsu. She can only assume people want juicy gossip to talk about. But at least some of her fans are happy for her relationship. 

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to what his girlfriend is up to, Natsu is napping. After all, he had a stressful time trying to get a hold of Lucy. He had gone to multiple hospitals trying to track her done, but had no luck finding her. Then again, he did not know her last name and showing a photo of her only went so far. At least he is peacefully asleep now. 

While reclined on the couch with Natsu lying on her, Lucy simply scrolls through some of the tags and posts she reads.

_He’ll never be good enough for her! Nobody ever will!! ___

_They are sooo cute together! Relationship goals right there!! #love ___

_Aww, look at how happy they look! #goals ___

_He might be some model, but he isn’t the one for her :P #sheshoulddateme ___

_Ew, she can do waaay better than him #haveyouseenhispinkhair ___

Lucy puffs out her cheeks at the last one she reads. She actually likes his hair the way it is! “They don’t know anything…” she mutters to herself.

Natsu stirs, mumbling under his breath. 

Holding her breath in fear that she woke him up, Lucy looks away from her phone’s screen to look down at him. His eyes are still closed. 

She sighs in relief. 

Lucy nearly drops her phone in surprise when her ringtone starts going off. Loke’s name pops up on the screen. Going against better judgment, she actually answers the call. “Yes?” 

“Before you hang up on me, I want to apologize for the other day!” Loke says quickly. 

“I’m listening,” she says somewhat stiffly. 

“Natsu’s a good guy. Even the other models know that.” 

Using her free hand, she absentmindedly toys with Natsu’s hair. “That’s true.” 

“I guess I found it… odd that you chose Natsu to date. He’s loud and obnoxious. Not really the quiet, romantic type who loves reading books that I pictured you with.” 

“Natsu is romantic…” Lucy comments. He can be quiet when he is asleep at least. He is not the biggest fan of books, but it means the world to her that he has read her work. 

“I just want what’s best for you, Lucy. I still care about you as a person.” 

“Sooo that’s why you still have my number,” she muses sarcastically. 

Loke softly chuckles. “There have been hopes we got together on our own accord. No arranged marriage. But alas, you have someone for you.” 

She smiles and looks down at Natsu. “He’s a lot better than some prince charming. That’s for sure.” 

“I do hope the best for you. The both of you. And I’m sorry for the way I acted during our last meeting.” 

“Thank you. That means a lot coming from you.” 

“Well, I shall let you go. It’s getting late. Enjoy you’re evening.” 

“Bye.” 

The call ends, and Lucy holds her phone away from her to go back to what she had been doing before. 

“That wasn’t so bad,” Natsu comments suddenly. 

This time, she does drop her phone in surprise. It lands on Natsu’s head and bounces onto the floor. He winces in pain and rubs the sore spot with a hand. 

“I’m so sorry!” she gushes. “You scared me!” 

“Maybe I should have pretended to slowly wake up…” he jokes. 

She blinks. “Wait, you were awake?” 

He finally raises his head and looks at her, his face close to hers. “Since you started talking to Loke. The ringtone woke me up.” 

“Oh, so you do know who I was talking to.”

“It wasn’t hard to recognize his voice.” 

“Good point.” 

“Hey, what time is it?”

“I don’t know. And my phone is on the floor so I can’t check.” 

With that being the case, Natsu lowers a hand onto the floor to grab her phone. He pushes the button on the side so the screen lights up. “Not seven o’clock just yet. Oh, and your phone will need charged.” Then he leaves the phone on the floor so she cannot accidentally hurt him with it again. 

“Do you work tomorrow?” 

“I start at eleven. Why do you ask?” 

“I was just wondering if you had to leave soon or could stay.” 

“Trust me, I don’t mind staying.” He cracks a grin. “That just means more time I getta spend with you.” 

“Which means you get to put up with me,” she jokes before she bites her lower lip. 

“What’s wrong?” Natsu asks, instantly noticing her change in mood. 

“I put you through a rough time today because I wasn’t clear enough.” 

“Besides, I think you learned your lesson,” he teases. 

Lucy puffs her cheeks out.

“For an author, you certainly have a way with words!” he chuckles. 

“Hey!” 

He wrestles her into a hug, sliding in between her and the couch. After the adjustment, he smooches her cheek. “You know that I love you.” 

“Hmph!” Lucy turns her head so she is not looking at him.

“Aww, c’mon, Luce!” 

She does not say a word. 

“Luceee,” he whines. 

She finally looks back at him to peck his nose. “You’re such a baby.” 

He nuzzles his face into her neck. “Can’t argue that.” 

She laughs. “Do your friends know you act like this?” 

“Doubt it,” he snorts. “None of ’em really know about the sweet side I have with you.” 

“I like that side.” There are other sides she likes to him as well. 

“You’re the reason why I have it.” 

Lucy softly smiles. “You’re so cheesy.” 

“After all, you do like your stuffed crust pizza with cheese,” he teases. 

“Along with the other toppings that I like,” she adds. “You just like all meat on yours.” 

He makes a face. “I’ll pass on the veggies.” 

“You always do.” 

Natsu sighs in contentment as he snuggles up to his girlfriend. “You’re comfy.” 

“At least I can be that for you.” 

“You’re more than that, Luce.” 

“Really?” 

He knows just how to embarrass her. “Sure. After all, you’re gonna be the mother of our children.” 

Lucy’s face heats up, and she feels as though her ears will melt off. “Wh-what?” she squeaks. 

“There’s nobody else I’d rather want for that role,” he continues as though her brain is not short circuiting. “Besides, you’re stuck with me.” 

“W-why me?” she stutters, feeling herself slowly growing emotional. 

“Why not you?” he simply counters. “First of all, you’re incredible. Like, across the board incredible. You have a sassy streak that’s great and you can dish things back. When you write, sometimes you stick your tongue out a bit, and I think that’s cute. You really care about the people close to you, and people can tell how important they are to you.” He smiles. “You’re a big weirdo, but you’re my big weirdo.” 

Not once did he mention something about her physical appearance. She has been used to so many guys having what she looks like as their focus. But with Natsu, how she is on the outside is not the most important thing to him. 

“You in a nutshell is cute as fu–” he starts to keep their endearing trend going. After all, they did start talking in the first place because of the review she left for him. 

Lucy grabs the sides of his head so she can easily plant one on him. He really gets her and he always seems to know what to say. 

When their lips break apart, Natsu’s eyes flutter open. “You’re a good kisser,” he breathes. “Did I mention that before?” 

“No,” she whispers. 

“Well, you are. A really good kisser.” 

“You’re not so bad yourself.” 

“I’ve learned from the best.” 

She giggles. 

Natsu hugs her tightly. “I love you. I love you a whole lot.” 

“I love you, too.” 

“Like, you make my heart do this thing.” 

“I hope it’s a good thing.” 

“Sometimes it skips a beat, but I consider that to be a good thing. Because you’re the cause of it.” 

Lucy cannot stop the smile from forming on her face. “You mean it?” 

“I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it.” Then Natsu leans forward so he can kiss her some more. 

She closes her eyes and enjoys the moment as it happens. She loves the feel of his warm lips against hers. Lucy is perfectly happy in this moment of time all thanks to her boyfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Ugh, lame ending but I wanted to finally end it XD But now I gotta figure out which arc I want next...


	27. Chapter 27

**{There will be a Harry Potter spoiler from the last book/second to last movie for those who don’t know! It’s only a character death (one of many from that series…), but I still feel like there should be a fair warning for some!} ******

A couple days later, Lucy is out and about with her editor and good friend, Jellal Fernandes. They just finished having lunch together and going over Lucy’s current work.

The man walking beside Lucy has blue locks, dark eyes, and a kind face. There is an intricate red marking above and below his right eye. “I think we had a good session today,” he comments. 

She nods in agreement. “We got a lot done for the book for sure. I’m excited for it!” 

He smiles a little. “As you should be.” 

They are about to pass Levy’s favorite antique store when Lucy recalls something Levy had said. Erza owns the flower shop next door to it. She looks to see the shop’s sign is white with a single scarlet word written in scripty font that says “Scarlet”. Out front of the shop are bunches of flowers on display, soaking up the sun and adding color to the scene. 

“Can we stop in the flower shop for a bit?” she asks. 

Jellal shrugs. “I don’t see why not?”

Due to the wonderful summer weather, the doors to the shop are propped open. The wonderful aroma is everywhere inside the building. Sound is coming from a nearby water fountain along the wall to the left. Little trinkets are decorating the shelves and tables that have plants and flowers on them. 

Apart from Lucy and Jellal being the shop, there is one other person. The young woman has long dark scarlet hair cascades down to her waist and sideswept bangs to her right. Her skin is fair while her dark brown eyes are fierce. 

“Hello and welcome to my shop,” she greets warmly. 

Jellal seems utterly awestruck by her presence while Lucy is able to speak. “Oh, you must be Erza!” 

She studies Lucy for a moment. “I’m sorry, but do I know you?”

“Not exactly,” she replies. “My name is Lucy and–” 

Erza gasps. “Are you the one dating Natsu?” 

Lucy nods. “That’s me.” 

In the blink of an eye, Erza is standing in front of Lucy and holding her hands tightly. “I’ve been telling Natsu that we need to meet, but he hasn’t listened to me. But here you are!” 

Lucy accepts that she is literally in Erza’s hands. “Uh, yeah. I was just walking by with my friend when I decided to stop in. Levy had mentioned you owned this flower shop.” 

“Both Natsu and Levy have talked about you to me many times before,” Erza says. “I feel as though I already know you.” 

Lucy can only hope they have not revealed anything embarrassing about her. Although, she expects that from Natsu and not Levy. 

Erza looks over at Jellal. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ignore you.” She releases Lucy to hold out a hand for him. “I’m Erza.” 

“You’re wonderful,” he breathes. Then he snaps back into reality. He fumbles with grabbing her hand to shake. “Uh, what I meant was–”

Erza begins to laugh. “It’s quite all right. Really.” 

He merely smiles at her. “Wonderful.” 

Lucy eyes Jellal carefully, wondering if Erza put some sort of spell on him. She has never seen him like this before. He is clearly smitten! 

Erza looks back at Lucy. “Is there anything I can get for you? Perhaps a small tour?” 

She reasons it is all right to spoil herself from time to time. “Can I get some pink roses?”

**x-X-x ******

Now back at her apartment, Lucy is balling her eyes out. It happens every time she rereads this particular death scene of a character from the _Harry Potter ___series. There is no helping it. It gets her right in the feels.

She actually sets the book down to walk around in an attempt to calm herself. 

Without warning, the door to the apartment opens and Natsu strolls inside. “Man, it’s good to be off work–” He stops talking when he notices the state his girlfriend is in. “L-Luce!” Forgetting all about closing the door behind him, he rushes over to her side to hug her tightly. “What’s wrong? What happened? Why are you crying?” 

She clings onto him, gripping onto his work shirt. “H-he died!” she sobs. 

He immediately stiffens up and inhales sharply. Then he squeezes her for extra measure. “It’ll be okay, Luce…” he says solemnly. He cannot cry as well because he knows he needs to be strong for her. 

Her crying is the only thing heard from inside the apartment. “He died f-for Harry and his f-friends!” 

Natsu slowly process her words. “Wait… what… ?” 

“It’s just so sad!” she wails. “He was free and he should have l-lived a happy life!” 

He pulls his head back to look slightly down at her due to their height difference. “Luce… who are you talking about?” 

She looks up at him with blurry tears. “D-Dobby!” 

“Who?” Now he is trying to remember if she has mentioned a friend named Dobby. Or maybe it is a nickname for someone he does not know. 

“Dobby the free elf!” 

He makes a face. “Dobby?”

“He’s a house-elf from _Harry Potter ___,” she sniffles, getting some control over her emotions.

“You mean that he’s a fictional person?” he deadpans. 

“He’s not, like, a human person since he’s a house-elf.” 

“ _Fictional ___?” he stresses.

“I cry every time his death scene happens,” she continues like he never said a word before. “It’s just so sad.” 

“So _your dad ___isn’t the dead one?” he asks for confirmation.

Lucy blinks in surprise at him. “My dad? No, he’s not dead. He’s still at the hospital. I visited him after I was with Jellal. He’s fine.” 

Natsu sighs in relief and buries his face into the crook of her shoulder and neck. “At first I thought you were talking about your dad before you said the name…” 

“He might be in the hospital, but he’s not on death’s door,” she assures him. “He just needs to recover.” 

“That’s good…” he exhales. 

She pats his back. “I’m sorry I put you through that.” 

“Ugh, I’m emotionally exhausted. I need to sit down.” 

“Do you need anything?” 

Without a word, Natsu tightens his grip around her and easily lifts her off of her feet. He trudges over to the couch and lies down with her. After a quick adjustment, they are both comfortable. Facing each other, he has his back towards the couch and has his head tucked under her chin. 

“Just you,” he says, finally answering her question. 

“Hey, Natsu?” she asks. 

“Yeah?” 

“You left the door open.” 

“Oh.” 

She cracks a smile. “Oh? That’s all you have to say.” 

“I mean, I don’t wanna get up and get it.” 

“Then I will.” 

“But I don’t wantcha to leave me.” 

“I’ll be right back.” 

“But I don’t wantcha to leaveee meee,” he whines, giving her a gentle squeeze for emphasis. 

Lucy giggles at his behavior and toys with his hair. “You’re extra clingy today. Did something happen.” 

“Before I left for work, the family was talking about our trip to France this summer. It’s coming up fast.” 

She nods a little, knowing all about their trip. “July twenty-fifth. It’s the ninth now. It’ll be here faster than we know it.” She notes the unenthusiastic tone he had a moment ago. “Aren’t you looking forward to it?”

“Yeah. It’s something I getta do with my family each year. We always have loads of fun.” 

“Then why do you seem down about it?” 

“Because I’ll be gone a week and won’t be able to see you. It’ll be the longest time we’ve been apart.” 

Lucy snorts. “I didn’t know you existed until you delivered that pizza to me that one night.”

“The longest time we’ve been apart since we started dating,” he corrects. 

“I’m sure we’ll be fine. You can call me every day if you want.” 

“It’ll be more than once. Twice at least to tell you good morning and good night. Maybe more just to hear your voice.” 

“You’ll have to account for the time difference,” she points out. 

“I’ll be six hours ahead of you.” 

“Six hours isn’t too bad.” 

“Not having to worry about a time zone difference would be great though.” 

She smooches the top of his head. “You can’t have everything.” Then she attempts to slip away from him. 

“Hey, where do you think you’re going?” Natsu asks. 

“I’m getting up to shut the door. You can time me if you want.” 

He finally gives in. “Fine…” 

After getting up with ease, she makes her way over to the door to close it. 

“Eight…” he counts. “Nine… Ten…”

Feeling giddy, she rushes back to have a faster time. She cuddles up right to him to return to her original position. “What time did I have?” Lucy asks. 

“Too long,” he replies. “But now I can take all the time I need to recharge with you.” 

“After the emotional and mental trauma I put you through?” she teases. 

“Exactly.” 

“Then I guess I’ll let you be my personal furnace.” 

“Good.” He presses his lips against her skin for a quick kiss. “I love you.” 

She smiles and kisses his head. “I love you, too.” 

“I love you sooo much.” 

“I think you like saying that.” 

“I love you with the power of a thousand suns.”

“A thousand seems under dramatic.” 

“What about the power of a thousand suns exploding into a supernova, huh?” 

“That’s more realistic I suppose.” 

He snorts. “Well, good. Whatever makes you happy.” 

“You make me happy.” 

“That’s great.” He nuzzles his face against her. “And you make me really happy, too.” 

Lucy closes her eyes and takes in the moment. She is with her boyfriend who loves her. Of course, she loves him back. What more can she ask for?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: A total filler chapter, but some good moments I think! Brought in Jellal and Erza. And I wanted to mess with Natsu XD Plus, Harry Potter is always great! And, ya know, it sends up a future arc… Because of my time zone in the USA and France is 6 hours, I’m giving this fic 6 hours. Easy to keep track of! 
> 
> A/N Part 2: That ending after they say I love is something that the fiancé and I have done before XD Seemed fitting for these two dorks. And Natsu’s line is gonna get longer haha (y’all can thank the fiancé for that!)
> 
> A/N Part 3: Not related to CAF at all, but I finally finished More Than a Princess at Chapter 50! Was a big moment for me :D Woo~


	28. Chapter 28

On the Thursday the fifteenth, Lucy is in a slight panic. Natsu’s birthday is tomorrow and she still has no idea what to get him. She does not trust herself to buy him clothes because he is a professional model. She is not sure if there is a specific video game that he wants. Actually, he really does not talk about what he wants. It seems like he is happy with what he has. 

While pacing in her bedroom, Lucy realizes that she has an in. Well, something that is more like her secret weapon when it comes to her boyfriend. She scrambles for her cell phone to start texting. 

Lucy: Hey! Are you free today? I need help getting a birthday gift for Natsu… 

Not too much longer later, Lucy’s phone goes off because of a text message. 

Wendy: I’m free now if that works for you!

Lucy throws a fist into the air and gets back to texting. 

Lucy: No telling Natsu what we’re up to! But I think we should meet at the mall! 

Wendy: Okay, sounds good! 

Wendy: When do you want to meet?

Lucy: The sooner the better I think! 

Then Lucy looks down at herself. It is the middle of the afternoon and she is still wearing her matching pajama shorts and tank top. 

Lucy: I’ll need some time to get ready though…

Wendy: No problem! Just text me when you leave and I’ll leave at the same time! 

Lucy: Thank you so much!

So Lucy gets to work on deciding what to wear as she stands in front of her closet. Skipping over what Natsu has stored, she focuses on her summer dresses. “Oo, this’ll be great!” She grabs the hanger of a high-low maxi dress and pulls it out. The fabric is a lovely shade of pink that goes with her hair color and skin tone. Plus, the dress looks great on her figure! 

Now in the dress, picking out a pair of cute sandals is easy. After applying some makeup and checking over herself in the mirror, Lucy is all ready to leave. She shoots Wendy a quick text before leaving her apartment with purse in hand.

**x-X-x ******

Now at Magnolia Mall, Lucy is waiting by the food court entrance for Wendy. They have gone shopping before and this spot is their official meeting place.

The doors slide open, and Wendy strolls inside the air conditioned building. She waves when she sees Lucy. 

Lucy smiles and waves back, closing the gap between them. “Aww, we both got the memo to wear dresses!” she comments, noticing the adorable yellow and blue dress that Wendy is wearing. 

Wendy chuckles. “I guess we did!” 

“Thanks again for meeting me here.”

“Like I said, it’s no problem! Oh, so where do you want to start first?”

“I’m hoping you can help me with that. I’m at a lost when it comes to Natsu… Do you have any suggestions?”

Wendy taps a finger to her chin while she thinks. “I guess things could depend on what you want for him. More serious or funny? Meaningful?”

“I never thought to break it down like that…” Lucy admits. 

“Maybe walking around will help you. You can get ideas that way.” 

“I like that idea. Let’s do that.” 

So the duo starts walking through the food court to start on one side of the upper level. Of course, they skip over the stores that are not in Natsu’s taste or style. They do not bother going into the store his pictures are displayed in. He already has enough of their clothes and accessories.

**x-X-x ******

In the end, they find two things for Natsu. The first is a sparkling white tiara that reads “BIRTHDAY BITCH” in pink. The more meaningful one is a simple black frame with three slots for horizontal photos and two slots for vertical photos. Surprisingly, Natsu is the one in the relationship who likes taking photos of Lucy or Lucy and him. However, he has yet to frame any of them.

“I’m sure Natsu will love them!” Wendy gushes as they walk through the parking lot. 

Lucy smiles, feeling happy about what was picked. “I wonder if he’ll even wear the tiara…” 

Wendy nods. “Knowing Natsu, I’m sure he will. He might try wearing it all day even!” 

Lucy laughs at the very thought. “Now that would be a sight to see!” 

The duo stops by Wendy’s car, and Wendy stops to face Lucy. “Thanks for inviting me out today. I had fun!” 

“I did, too.” 

“Are you parked to far from here?” 

Lucy gestures in the direction of her car. “I’m not far.” 

“Text me when you get home, all right?” 

“You do the same. I’ll see you tomorrow!” 

“Bye, Lucy!” 

As Wendy hops inside of her car, Lucy makes her way over to hers. By now, she is speed walking with her keys already in hand. All while trying to enjoy spending time with Wendy, Lucy was unable to help the feeling that she was being watched. She had no way of shaking it off. Of course, she did not mention a word about it to Wendy since she did not want her to worry, Or, if it came down to it, scare her. 

Lucy is quick to get inside of her car, sit down, and promptly lock the doors with the push of a button. She glances around, looking for any signs of something suspicious. However, everything seems normal. 

She takes a deep calming breath through her nose before exhaling loudly out of her mouth. “I’m fine. Everything’s fine. No worries.” She sticks her key into the ignition and starts the engine. Then she grabs her cell phone from her purse to call Capricorn before driving away. 

“Hello, Miss Lucy,” he answers. 

“You’re not here, right?” She sounds more freaked out than intended. 

He seems slightly surprised. “Define here.” 

“Magnolia mall. Have you been following Wendy and me around for the past couple of hours?” 

“I’ve been with your father.” 

Lucy checks her surroundings, seeing if some sort of vehicle is following her. “Have you had someone follow me?” 

“I don’t believe there’s a reason for it. As a Heartfilia, your safety is a priority, but I believe your cover is low enough.” 

Her mind goes a mile a minute. Is she overreacting? Maybe she is over thinking things… 

“Miss Lucy?” Capricorn asks due to her silence. 

She gasps at his voice. “Wh-what?” 

“Is there something I should be aware of?” 

“It felt like… I was being watched earlier.” Now she feels silly for saying it out loud. 

“Where are you?” He is not taking this as a joking matter. 

“Driving back to my apartment now.” 

“Do you want someone to meet you there? To keep you company?” 

She knows he means it as ensuring her safety. “Uh, I think I’ll be fine when I’m home. Maybe I just need to relax.” 

“If you like, I’ll send you numbers you can contact if you change your mind.” 

She cracks a smile. “I’d appreciate that. Thank you.” 

“You’re more than welcome, Miss Lucy.” 

“Hey, how is my father doing?” She did see him yesterday, but she is hopefully progress has been made. 

“Much better. He has been talking about visiting you when he is released from the hospital.” 

“How about I visit him instead? He isn’t back to being one hundred percent.” 

“Which is what I suggested to him.” 

“Do you know when he’ll get out of there?” 

“Next day or so the doctor believes.” 

“Then he’ll be back to running Heartfilia Enterprise?” 

“He has tried multiple times from doing that already. The nurses have scolded him repeatedly and have taken his devices away.” 

Lucy chuckles. “That sounds like Father.” 

“I apologize for ending the call now, but your father is requiring assistance.” 

“Tell him I say hi.” 

“I shall. And do let me know if you require assistance as well.” 

“Hopefully it won’t come down to that.” 

“Have a good rest of the day, Miss Lucy.” 

“You, too!” 

Lucy ends the call and places her phone inside of a cup holder. She turns on some music to listen to relax as she focuses on driving. Everything will be all right. Capricorn will send her numbers, and she will have them if she needs them. 

She glances over at the two bags on the passenger seat, a small smile on her lips. She cannot wait to see Natsu’s reaction tomorrow. She totally would give it to him today, but he will be working late at Makarov’s Pizzeria. 

Stopping at a red light, Lucy takes a deep breath. “I’ll go home. Wrap the gifts. Make tea. And write.” She nods to herself, liking the sound of that. “Maybe I’ll check in with Yukino about things while I’m at it.” 

Lucy jumps when her phone goes off because Natsu is calling. She collects herself before answering. “Hello?” 

“Hiya, Luce!” he greets warmly. 

“Don’t you have work?”

“I haven’t started yet.”

“So what’s up?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“I just wanted to hear your voice.” 

“You’re such a sap.” 

“But I’m your sap.” 

The light finally turns and Lucy drives forward. “I can’t argue that.” 

“So I’m seeing you tomorrow, right?”

Lucy decides to play dumb, just to mess with him. “Wait, what’s tomorrow?”

“Luce…” he scolds lightly. 

“Do we have a date planned?”

“Are you being serious right now?”

“Pfft, no.” 

“You’re so mean to meee,” he whines. 

“But you love me anyways.” 

“Yeah, I do.” Then Natsu groans loudly. “Ugh, I gotta go now. I love you with the power of a thousand suns exploding into a supernova of kittens and rainbows!” 

She playfully rolls her eyes at his silliness. “You’re such a weirdo.”

“Is that your way of saying that you love me, too?”

“You’re a really big weirdo.” 

“Aww, you really do love me!” 

Lucy laughs. “I do. I love you. A lot.” 

“I love you, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: I dunno if Natsu has a canon birthday, but I made it July sixteenth since that’s the middle of July/summer. Seemed fitting for him XD 
> 
> A/N Part 2: Not related to CAF, but I posted the first chapter to a new FT/NaLu work called Just a Dream. I’ll be posting the next chapter soon :D Anyways, it’ll be more angst/drama oriented. Not my normal cup of tea when I write! Feel free to check it out if you wanna!


	29. Chapter 29

The next day around one-thirty, Lucy pulls up to the Dragneel house. She is here half an hour before the shindig actually starts to offer a helping hand if need be. Grabbing her purse, gift bag for Natsu, and plastic bag with her bikini and towel, she gets out of her car and rushes to the front door. She still feels as though she is being watched and wants to get indoors. 

Has she told Capricorn about it? Of course. Has she requested he send someone to be with her? Not yet at least. Maybe tomorrow if the feeling is happening for a third day in a row…

Lucy races up the two front porch steps and flings open the door, nearly hitting Grandeeney who is walking by. “Oh, are you all right?” she asks with worry, stepping back onto the front porch. 

“I’m fine,” Grandeeney assures her, chuckling a bit. “Just a little jump scare.” 

“I’m sorry.” 

“So why the hurry?”

There is no way Lucy can tell her. She is not even one hundred percent sure someone is following her. She has yet to even catch someone actually doing that. She has only felt as though someone is watching her. “I was just excited to be here,” she answers. “Big day for Natsu and all.” 

Grandeeney peers past her, looking outside for anything that might be off. “Is that so… ?” Then she makes eye contact with Lucy. “Well, come on in. No sense in leaving the door open with the AC on.” 

So Lucy steps over the threshold and moves to the side. 

“Natsu is around here somewhere,” Grandeeney says, closing the door behind her. “Last I knew he was out back.” 

“Then I’ll look for him there first.” 

“Just listen for him being loud,” Grandeeney suggests as Lucy walks away. 

Lucy laughs. “That’s the best way to find him!” She strolls into the kitchen, and someone squeals at her presence. 

Levy stops cutting vegetables for the vegetable tray and sets the knife down. “Yay, you’re here, Lu!” she says, making her way around the kitchen island to hug her. 

Lucy had been in such a rush that she did not even notice Levy’s car parked out front. “As if I’d miss this,” she jokes, hugging back. 

The dup breaks apart, and Lucy asks a question. “So why are you here early?” She is more than Gajeel is somewhere around as well. 

“Gajeel and I offered to help get ready before two o’clock. What about you?” 

“Same reason.” 

Levy nudges her playfully. “Or you can’t get enough of your boyfriend…” 

“The birthday boy boyfriend,” Lucy playfully corrects. 

“Speaking of him, I think he’s up in his room.” 

“His room? Grandeeney said out back.” 

Levy shrugs. “Who knows by now where he actually is? But if Grandeeney said backyard, then I’d check there first.” 

“At least I know a second place if he’s not there.” 

“I’m sure once he catches wind that you’re here he’ll find you.” 

Lucy laughs. “That sounds like Natsu!” 

“I’ll finish up in here, but go find him.” 

“Or have him find me,” she jokes, walking towards the back door. She opens it and steps onto the wooden patio, closing the door behind her. It is easy to spot Natsu and Igneel standing by the grill as they clean it for later use. 

Happy looks up from his curled up position on a cushioned chair and meows at her. He and Carla are both outdoor cats so it is not a surprise to find them outside. Although, they typically stay within the fenced in yard. 

Natsu immediately whips his head around to look at Lucy, a grin already on his face. He is already wearing his fire themed swimming trunks and a black muscle shirt. “Luce!” 

She is surprised. “How could you have possibly known it was me?” After all, he had his backed turned to her when she stepped outside. He seemed pretty positive it was her before he said her name.

“Happy meows a certain way when he sees you,” he replies matter-of-factly, leaving Igneel’s side to walk over to her. 

“Oh.” She knows he meows at her, but she never it was different than his normal meowing. 

Natsu hugs her tightly before letting go and stepping back to give her some space. 

“Hi, Lucy!” Igneel greets, waving from his spot. 

She looks over at him. “Hey! Having fun?” 

“I was until my son ran off,” he teases. 

“Pfft, Luce is waaay better than you, old man!” Natsu says. 

“She’s prettier, I’ll give her that! Not by much, but still prettier than me!” 

Lucy laughs. “Ain’t that the truth?” Then she looks at Natsu, holding out his gift bag by the handles. Since she sucks at using wrapping paper, she always uses gift bags and tissue paper. Because of Natsu’s birthday, she went with a red bag and black paper. It is a color combination she knows he loves. “Happy birthday.” 

Taking the bag, he gives her his best puppy dog eyes. “Can I open it now?” 

She giggles. “If you want to. Like I’m going to tell the birthday boy he can’t.” 

He lights up with a smile and leans in to kiss her right cheek. “You’re the best, Luce!” 

“There’s no card,” Lucy says as he digs through the tissue paper. 

He pulls out the frame first, softly smiling at him. Then he makes eye contact with her. “I’m sure I have a few photos in mind already that I wanna use for this.” 

“Do whatever you want. It’s your gift after all.” 

“Thanks, Luce. I love it.” 

“Oh, there’s one more.” She takes the frame from him so he can use his free hand to grab it. 

Slightly surprised, he reaches in and pulls out the tiara. His eyes light up as he grins from ear to ear. “I’m wearing this all day!” 

“Wearing what?” Igneel asks, turning so he can see. 

Natsu proudly puts the tiara on his head and faces his dad. 

Igneel cracks up. “I’m stealing that when it’s my birthday!” 

He dramatically gasps. “No way! It’s mine!”

“Didn’t we teach you to share?” 

“Yeah, but this is from Luce! So it’s off limits!” Then Natsu looks back at Lucy, still smiling. “I love them. So much. And I’m gonna rock this tiara.” 

She laughs. “I’m glad you like them.” 

Natsu holds open the bag so she can safely drop the frame inside. 

“Oh, do you need to change or anything?” 

She blanks out for a moment. “Change?” 

“Are you wearing your bikini under your clothes?”

She holds up the plastic bag. “I still have to change.” She did debate putting her bikini on under her clothes earlier, but in the end just tossed it in a bag along with a towel. 

“You can change in my room then.” 

“It better not be a mess…” Lucy shudders at the thought of the last time she saw it. 

“It’s better now. Promise.” 

She hopes he means it. 

“I’ll put this”-he raises the bag slightly-“away while you change. Sounds good?”

“Sounds like a plan.” 

So the duo enters the house and goes different ways because of their differing destinations. Lucy hears Levy burst into a fit of later and assumes she must have seen Natsu’s tiara. When she reaches Natsu’s room, she cautiously opens the door, mentally preparing herself for the state it might be in. 

Her jaw drops open when she sees it. It is clean. The most clean she has ever seen it. Newly vacuumed. No clothes on the floor or hanging off of furniture. Everything is in its proper place. “Wow…” she murmurs, shutting and locking the door behind her. 

She notices something taped to one of Natsu’s closet doors and walks over to read it. The piece of paper says “open at own risk” in Natsu’s handwriting. Lucy muses that he tossed whatever was remaining in there. 

Then she steps over to his neatly made bed and tosses the plastic bag onto it. Just as she is reaching for the hem of her tank top, she stops when something catches her eye. Resting on his nearby nightstand is a framed, eight by ten photo that is black and white. Lucy instantly recognizes the image she is looking at. It is from the shoot she did with Natsu for the perfume add. He is stealing a peek at her while half of her face is visible. 

Lucy cannot stop the smile from forming on her lips. Although, she is surprised that he has not mentioned a single word about it before to her. Of course, she will have to ask him about it later.

**x-X-x ******

With the sun shining down, the shindig is well under way. True to his word, Natsu is still wearing his tiara. He even refused to let Gray wear it when he asked to try it on.

Currently, Lucy and Erza are sitting on poolside chairs, making pleasant conversation. 

“Wow, who would have guessed that’s how you and Natsu met?” Lucy muses, still wrapping her head around the story she just heard. 

Erza nods. “Even to this day it’s a precious memory of mine.” 

Lucy will be sure to ask Natsu if he feels the same way about what had happened in the past. 

“So, Lucy…” Erza begins slowly, a little smile on her face as she thinks. 

“Yes?” 

“I take it your friend from a couple of days ago will not be coming?”

She makes a mental note to text Jellal that Erza asked about him. “No, not today.” 

Her smile deflates a little. “Another time perhaps.”

Lucy nods eagerly. “Definitely. I’m sure Jellal would love that.” 

“That’s good to know.” 

Dripping wet, Levy walks over to the duo and takes the empty seat next to Levy. “I can’t keep up with those guys!” 

“Especially when they’re in the deep end…” Lucy teases. 

Levy makes a face at her. 

“Shall I defend your honor, Levy?” Erza inquires, sitting up a little. “After all, your fiancé didn’t even bother to.” 

She considers it, a devious smirk growing on her lips. “If you don’t mind...” 

So Erza takes off her sun hat and sets it down on the little table where her cell phone is. “Time to face my wrath!” Then she jumps into the pool where the guys are. 

They scramble out of the way, hoping they do not fall victim to her. They all know she will not show mercy. 

Natsu is able to scramble out of the pool before she can lay a hand on him. He is either graced with luck, or perhaps Erza did not target him first considering today is his day. When he stands up, he touches his tiara to ensure he is still wearing it. Then he walks over to Lucy and Levy, claiming Erza’s empty seat. 

“Who sicced that monster on us?” he pants, eyes still wide as his heart returns to a normal beating pattern. 

Levy crosses her arms under her chest. “You all deserved it.” 

“Hey, I didn’t do anything to you!” Natsu points out to defend himself. 

“You encouraged the guys,” Lucy comments. 

Levy nods. “Exactly. So you still took part.” 

“O-oi, Shrimp!” Gajeel calls as he is stuck in a headlock, courtesy of Erza. “Call her off of–” His head disappears underwater in bubbles. 

“A few more dunks and I think he’ll be good,” Levy tells Erza.

Of course, she gets right to work. 

“She’s scary…” Natsu breathes, then looks at Lucy. “You’ll protect me from her, right?”

She shrugs. “Maybe.” 

“Maybe?”

“Did I stutter?”

He gulps. 

Out of nowhere, Erza is standing before Natsu, glaring down at him with arms crossed under her chest. “Did you dry off before sitting down?” she asks coldly. Although, it is obvious he did not due to the dripping puddle beneath him. 

He gulps. “Shit.” 

“Food’s ready!” Igneel hollers, unknowingly saving his son’s life. 

“No fighting while eating!” Natsu tells Erza. “That’s a rule we have, right? So it activates now!” His hopes rise that he is safe… for now. 

“Then prepare yourself for after.” She bends down and leans in just to intimate Natsu before she grabs her hat. “Until then.” 

Natsu finally exhales a big breath when she walks away. He holds a hand over his heart. “I think I just lost a few years…” he says in a shaky voice. 

“Serves you right,” Levy comments. 

“Wh-what did I even do?” he stutters. 

“You sat your wet butt down on her seat,” Lucy replies. “Duh.” 

“Come on, Lu,” Levy says, standing up. “Let’s get some food together!” 

Natsu is quick to stand up and hold Lucy’s left hand with his right. “Hey, no stealing my girlfriend from me. Especially when I’m right here!” 

Levy makes a face at him. “Fine, just for today. But it’s your fault that we met.” 

He rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah…” Then he gives Lucy’s hand a gentle squeeze. “Too bad that I met her first.” 

“All because of pizza,” Lucy comments. 

“A stuffed crust pizza topped off with mushrooms, cheese, and pep,” Natsu corrects. 

Lucy smiles, actually finding it sweet that he remembers that order from months ago.

**x-X-x ******

Now it is dark out and fireflies are glowing in the backyard, acting like little beacons of light. All because Natsu loves flames, there is a nice fire in the fire pit courtesy of his handiwork. Currently, Lucy is in the middle of Gray and Levy. Lucy had left a space for Natsu, but Gray took it because Juvia wanted the free chair next to him so they could be together.

Satisfied with fire for now, Natsu turns around and sees his spot has since been taken. Taking matters into his own hands, he walks over to Lucy and stands in front of her. Without a word, he picks her up with ease. 

“Wh-what are you doing?” she squeaks in surprise. “Put me down!” 

He simply sits down and lets her sit on his lap. He wraps his arms around her waist, keeping her in place. For a final touch, he places a chaste kiss to the skin of her left shoulder. 

Accepting her fate, not that Lucy is complaining about it, she snuggles in to get comfortable. 

“You good there, Flame Brain?” Gray snickers. 

“Perfectly happy, Ice Princess,” he replies. 

“Oh, Juvia wants cuddles, too!” Then she stands up to promptly sit on her boyfriend’s lap. 

In turn, Gray adjusts so they both can be comfortable as he tries to hide his bashful expression. He is not one for public displays of affection, and only Juvia sees his sweet side. 

Grandeeney and Wendy bring out supplies for s’mores. “Who’s ready for Natsu’s favorite campfire treat?” Grandeeney asks. 

“I bet that I’ll eat the most!” Natsu announces. 

“You’re on!” Gajeel says. 

“Juvia believes Gray will win!” she voices. 

“I doubt it,” Gray mumbles. “He’s an eating machine when it comes to s’mores.” 

Lucy looks around at the faces illuminated by the dancing flames, taking in the moment. She is surrounded by good company and is having a good time because of all of them. Best of all, she is with her caring boyfriend. Who can ask for more?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Longer chapter than normal to say thank you for those who nominated CAF for The Favorite Fairy Tail Fanfiction 2016! To say the least, I was surprised to be informed that it’s in the running for that title :D Some info down below about it! 
> 
> **EXCITING NEWS BELOW**
> 
> So pucksabrinadaphne from FFnet informed me that Cute As Fuck has been nominated for The Favorite Fairy Tail Fanfiction 2016! It’s already made it to the Primary Round!! It would mean a lot to me for you guys to go and vote for me if you enjoy CAF :D
> 
> If y’all go to their page, you can find the information there under The Favorite Fairy Tail Fanfiction 2016 story! On their fourth page, you can see all of the stories you’re able to vote for! You’re allowed to vote up to 4 stories, and I’d love to have one of those votes if you do decide to do up to 4! Oh, and I suggest PMing pucksabrinadaphne on FFnet to place your vote! (voting will end August 9)
> 
> Thanks in advance :D
> 
> ~RayreeAnne


	30. Chapter 30

After a great and long time at the Dragneel’s house, Lucy is almost at her apartment. She cannot wait to take a quick shower before hoping into comfy, cozy bed. It is late and she is really tired. She slows her pace down a bit when she notices a buff in color, manila envelope securely taped to the door to her apartment. “Did Natsu do that… ?” she mumbles to herself. 

Stopping in front of her door, Lucy uses one hand to grab the envelope and unlocks the door with her other hand. She steps inside, flips on the light switch, and starts opening the envelope. It is not super heavy, but something is definitely inside of it. While using a foot to close the door behind her, she pulls open the lip of the envelope and peers inside. 

Photos. It looks like four by six photos are inside. A lot of them. 

Lucy slips her keys inside of her purse so she can use her free hand to reach inside and pull out a handful of photos. When she sees the one on the top, her blood runs cold. 

It is a photo of her. 

The feeling she has been having. She felt as though someone was just watching her, but obviously they were doing more than that. They had been following her around and secretly taking photos of her. From different angles, making it seem as though there had been more than one photographer. 

She is shaking as her eyes look over the photos. Most of them are just Lucy, but other people are in the, too. Lucy by herself in her apartment, shot through a window before she closed the curtains. Lucy walking into the hospital alone with some flowers to visit Jude. Lucy and Jellal being together from when they were eating lunch to walking into Erza’s flower shop. Lucy and Gray hanging out since he asked for her help in shopping for a gift for Juvia. Lucy sitting on a park bench with a notebook and pen in hand. Lucy and Wendy at the mall together. 

The most recent ones are from today. She is rushing to be inside of the Dragneel’s home. There are at least two different angles of her making her way across the street and up to the front porch. 

Lucy tosses the photos and envelope away, and they scatter about the floor in front of her. She is a shaking mess as she backs into the door and slides her back down it. “N-no,” she stutters. “This can’t be… happening. This has to be a d-dream. Just a dream…” 

Is the room getting hotter? Why is she struggling to breathe? Her chest is heaving. Her skin feels clammy. Are the walls closing in on her? 

Capricorn. She needs to call Capricorn. Now. 

But she does not move. Does not budge an inch. Her eyes are transfixed on the photos. The photos that confirm her worries about be watched. 

Swallowing hard, Lucy barely pulls herself together. She slowly moves her hand towards her purse to grab her phone. It is like she is moving through water. After what seems like forever, she pulls her phone and pushes a button so the screen lights up. She goes under Capricorn’s contact information and calls his number. Lucy shakily raises the phone to her ear as she curls herself into a ball. Small tears blur her vision. 

He answers after two rings. “Hello, Miss Lucy,” he greets. 

“C-Capri–” She shudders and stops talking for a moment, tears falling down her cheeks. Then she whispers a single word, her voice trembling. “Capricorn…”

**x-X-x ******

Just after one in the morning, familiar and unfamiliar faces are inside of Lucy’s apartment. She is currently curled up on her couch with a blanket. Jude, since he insisted that he be here, is sitting right next to her to comfort her. 

Dressed like a maid, a woman pink hair cut in a short style and vivid blue eyes approaches the Heartfilias with two cups of tea. “Here you are,” Virgo says. 

Jude takes them both and holds over Lucy’s lap, where her hands are. “You’ll feel better with this.” 

Her hands close around the warm mug, fingers warming at the touch. She does not sip it though. She merely stares down at the liquid inside of the mug. 

“I meant feel better drinking it,” Jude says with a barely there smile. 

Lucy raises the mug to her lips and sips it. Truth be told, it is wonderful as the liquid slides down her throat. It as though it is thawing away her numbness. 

“Is there anything else?” Virgo asks, having stepped back a little to give the duo space. 

“Not right now,” Jude replies. “I’ll let you know if anything comes up.” 

Virgo bows and steps aside, waiting for further instructions. 

A police officer walks over to the father and daughter, looking at Jude. “We gathered the photos and envelope. We’ll check for finger prints and overlook Lucy’s.” 

“Could this be the work of some crazed fan?” Jude asks. “A reporter?” 

Lucy has no clue if this about her being Lucy Heartfilia or Ashley. Not many people know about her being a Heartfilia, but nothing like this has happened before because of Ashley. “I don’t know,” she admits in a low voice. 

“From what I saw,” the officer says, “it seems like whoever sent those images wanted to let you know that they’re watching.”

“It’s like they wanted to let you know they’re watching you.” 

She shivers, believing his words. “So what now?” 

“Capricorn will assign people to be with you,” Jude replies, assuring her safety. 

Stepping forward, Capricorn kneels next to Lucy so she will not have to look up at him. “Miss Lucy, I have a favor to ask of you.” 

“What is it?” 

“Are you able to text me photos of friends with names? I will forward those to the individuals I will be assigning to you. That way, they can match a name and face to people around you. If you want to add what they are to you, that will help as well.” 

Lucy understands his logic. “I’ll go through my phone in the morning.” 

Capricorn stands up straight and bows at his waist. “Thank you, Miss Lucy.” 

“Capricorn, I want you to stay the night with Lucy so she isn’t alone,” Jude instructs. “If you want to have another person with you, I’ll allow it.” 

“Virgo,” is all he says. 

“Of course,” she says, confirming that she will stay. 

Lucy sips more of her tea, welcoming the warmth spreads from inside of her core. She is relaxing already. In fact, she is finally feeling just how drowsy she is. She needs to go to bed soon. 

“Princess, do you want to sleep?” Virgo asks. 

“Princess?” Lucy asks, wondering where that nickname came from. Luce at least makes sense because of Lucy, but Princess? She is not royalty. Not in this lifetime at least. 

“You should get some sleep, Lucy,” Jude says. 

She shakes her head. “I’ll stay awake until everyone leaves.” 

“We’ll wrap things up soon,” the offer assures her. 

“Thing will be wrapped up soon,” Jude assures her. 

“All right.” Then Lucy merely continues to sip her tea. 

Eventually, people trickle out of the apartment before only three are remaining. Lucy is still on the couch while Capricorn and Virgo are standing around her. 

“Now it is bedtime, Princess,” Virgo says, and walks away to lock the front door. 

“I just want to shower before bed.” At this point, a shower will help relax her, too. That will help before she crawls into bed. 

“I will a run shower for you then.” After locking the door, Virgo leaves in search for the bathroom to prepare for Lucy. 

“Thank you,” Lucy says even though Virgo is gone. Then she looks at Capricorn. “Are people like Virgo going to be assigned to me?” 

“They all will have different skill sets, but yes,” he replies. 

“Should I be worried about any of the skill sets?” 

“You have nothing to fear, Miss Lucy,” he assures her with a gentle smile. “You will be in safe hands.” 

Hands clasped in front of her, Virgo enters the room. “The shower is ready when you are, Princess. I also laid out some pajamas for you. They are on your bed.” 

Her tea is since gone, but Lucy is still holding the mug. She finally sets it down on the nearby table and stands up, keeping the blanket around her. “Thank you, Virgo.” 

“If you are pleased, then feel free to punish me.” 

Lucy opens her mouth to speak, but words do not come out. Her brain is still processing what Virgo said. She looks at Capricorn for help. 

He merely shrugs and turns his attention to Virgo. “There probably will be no punishing tonight.” 

“Very well then.” 

Lucy takes a single step before she realizes something. “Oh, where are you two going to sleep? I don’t have a guest room or an extra bed…” 

“The couches will do,” Capricorn replies. 

“I can get extra blankets at least,” Lucy says. 

“Princess, I can fetch those while you shower,” Virgo says. 

“They’ll be in the hall closet.”

“Understood.” Then Virgo walks away. 

“Miss Lucy, before you shower, may I ask you something?” Capricorn asks. 

“Yes?”

He eyes her carefully. “Will you tell Natsu what happened?” 

“I’m not sure…” she admits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: Omg, Chapter 30 to CAF :D Thank you all so much for the attention it has received so far!! I think it might surpass MTAP if things keep up!! That’ll be something! Again, thank you all sooooo much for reading! PS. Cookies to those who saw the two easter eggs I had referencing two different works of mine XD
> 
> A/N Part 2: If y’all could PM pucksabrinadaphne on FFnet to place your vote for Cute as Fuck as The Favorite Fairy Tail Fanfiction 2016 story, that would be wonderful :D And a huge thank to those of you who already have :D CAF is in Primary Round, but I’m curious to see how far it can go!


	31. Chapter 31

When Lucy wakes up at eight o’clock, she cannot go back to bed. All she can do is stare up at the ceiling as she thinks about what happened when she arrived home. She does not want that happen to again. She wants to stop whoever did it so there is not a chance of it happening again. But what can she do? She has no leads. She has no clue as to why she is being targeted. 

Having had enough of her mind making things worse, Lucy finally rolls out of bed. She passes by her dresser, notices her massive bed head in the mirror, and does not care. When she opens her bedroom door, she can hear Capricorn and Virgo talking. It looks like they beat her to being productive first. 

“The princess should be aware of this,” Virgo says. 

“Perhaps we will tell her after breakfast,” Capricorn says. “We can see how she is faring from last night.” 

Lucy finds the two are in the family room, standing next to each other. 

Capricorn notices her first. “Miss Lucy.” 

“Tell me wha–” Lucy starts saying, but cuts herself off. She notices there is an envelope in Capricorn’s hands, just like the one from before. She does find it odd that he is wearing gloves in order to hold it. “Oh, did you get the photos back already?” she asks. 

Neither Capricorn nor Virgo says a word.

Lucy does not like their silence. She is wary because of it. “What’s going on?” 

“This envelope was found not too long ago,” Capricorn begins. “While Virgo remained here, I looked for possible signs of who could have left it behind. A neighbor of yours was out in the hallway when I was there, but he said he never saw someone put this on your door.” 

“The police are already on their way here,” Virgo adds. “Your father has been notified as well.” 

All Lucy can do is stare at the envelope. A part of her wants to know what is inside while the other part wants nothing to do with it. 

“Virgo used her phone to take pictures of it taped to the door and while I was removing it,” Capricorn explains. “The gloves are because I don’t want my finger prints on it.” 

“Have you seen what’s inside?” Lucy whispers. 

Capricorn merely nods. 

“More photos?” 

Again, he nods.

“Should I see them?” 

“It might be best if you don’t, Miss Lucy,” he answers. 

Instead, Lucy holds out a hand. 

Ever so reluctantly, Capricorn walks over to her and hands over the envelope. 

“Princess, shall I fetch gloves for you use?” Virgo asks before Lucy makes contact with the envelope. 

Lucy fingers close around the paper. “I don’t think it’ll be necessary for me.” Then she takes a deep breath, bracing herself as she reaches inside. The quantity of photos seems to be less than what the first batch had. 

From head to toe, she grows numb when her eyes take in the first photo at the top. 

Lucy and Natsu walking to his vehicle from when she saw Jude at the hospital for the first time. Lucy and Natsu walking into her apartment that same day. Natsu walking into her apartment building by himself. Lucy and Natsu eating dinner outside at a restaurant. Lucy and Natsu walking around together, holding hands and laughing. Natsu walking out of Makarov’s Pizzeria while wearing his uniform. 

There are some more to go through, but Lucy cannot look at them now. Maybe in a little bit. She needs reality to settle in. 

“This explains why Natsu wasn’t in the photos from before,” Capricorn says. 

“There was a special packet just for us and him.” Lucy shudders. “They know where he works…” He had been wearing his uniform from the earliest photos, but there are a couple of locations around for Makarov’s Pizzeria. They must have followed him to figure out which one he does work at. 

“Princess, what do you want to do now?” Virgo inquires. 

Lucy tears her gaze away from the photos in hand to look at Virgo. “What do you mean?”

“Are you going to tell your friends?” Capricorn asks. 

She bites her lower lip. At the very least, maybe she should tell Natsu. He does have a packet of him, with and without her. When she does tell Natsu she can only hope he will not freak out and leave. Although, maybe he will be safer that way if he cuts ties with her. “I’ll tell him…” 

Then Lucy keeps going through the photos and finally comes to the last one. A tingling sensation runs down her back. It is another shot of her and Natsu together, but it is different due to the red X over him. 

“What does this mean… ?” she whispers. Then she looks up at Capricorn and Virgo, speaking in a louder voice and holding up the image for them to clearly see. “What’s this mean?” 

“I didn’t see that one when I quickly looked through,” Capricorn says, sounding slightly surprised. “I only looked through the first few just to confirm who they were about.” 

Lucy starts panicking. “Is Natsu a target? Are they going to target him now? They didn’t cross me out from what I’ve seen!” 

Capricorn takes the photos and envelope away from Lucy so she cannot look at them anymore. He is quick to slip the photos inside. “We don’t know that.” 

“We don’t know why they targeted you in the first place,” Virgo points out. 

Lucy thinks of three valid enough reasons. “The possible things I can see this happening is because I’m a Heartfilia, I’m Ashley, or he’s a model.” Not to knock Natsu down a peg, but she believes it is not because of him. He is a model, but he is not that famous. “But I highly doubt it’s because of Natsu.”

“One way or another, we’ll get down to the bottom of this,” Capricorn assures her. “We’ll put this to a stop.” 

Lucy just wishes that can curl up into a ball and disappear. That seems like an easy way out of this living nightmare. Someone, or a group of people, has been following her and photographing her who she is with. They know who she is connected to and who she is closer to.

“I think it might be best to tell the Dragneel family about what’s going on,” Lucy voices. “Natsu is their son, but Wendy was in a few of the photos, too. Not to mention the fact I was photographed in front of their house.” 

“That can be arranged, Miss Lucy,” Capricorn says. 

“It can’t be until this evening because I know Natsu works at Mak”-she realizes something and gasps-“He’ll be working at Makarov’s Pizzeria later! He won’t get off until this evening!” 

“Princess, do you want one of our people to follow him?” Virgo questions. 

Lucy looks at Capricorn. “What do you think about that?”

“I believe it might be good to have someone tail Natsu to see if a suspicious person is tailing him,” he responds. “I can have two people watch over Natsu if that makes you feel better.” 

She nods. “That would actually.” 

Capricorn looks at Virgo. “Tell Gemi and Mini they have orders from Capricorn to follow Natsu Dragneel.” 

“Of course.” Then she bows at her waist, reaches for her phone in a pocket, and leaves the room to make the call. 

Now alone with Capricorn, Lucy tries looking anywhere but the envelope in his hand. 

He rests a reassuring hand on her left shoulder. “This will be resolved, Miss Lucy.” 

Needing more, Lucy steps closer to him for a hug. “The sooner the better.”

**x-X-x ******

By seven o’clock that evening, Lucy, Jude, and Capricorn are inside of the Dragneel’s home. Virgo and some others are discreetly outside to make sure the area is secure. Everyone inside are all in various spots of the family room. Most are sitting, but some are standing.

“I’m sorry this is happening because of me,” Lucy voices, having finished explaining the situation. “I believe I’m the target, but you all have a connection to me somehow.” She quickly glances over at Natsu before looking around at the others faces. “Some a little more special than others.” 

“An investigation is already underway, but no one is sure how long it will take,” Jude says. 

“So let’s just cross Natsu outta this equation,” Igneel begins, the gears in his mind turning. “It’s because of Lucy’s family or her being an author, right?” 

“That is what we have gathered so far,” Capricorn replies. 

“The last time I was photographed and labeled as a Heartfilia was when I was little,” Lucy says. “Some time after my mother had passed away. After that, my father kept me out of the public eye. It was like I disappeared.” 

“By the time she surfaced as Ashley, there was no way to connect her as a Heartfilia,” Jude continues. “She didn’t want ties to the name when she published since she wanted to make it on her own.” 

“So did somebody connect that you’re a Heartfilia?” Igneel inquires, looking at her. 

“We don’t know,” she honestly replies. 

“It does seem odd for all of the following and photos to happen because she’s Ashley,” Grandeeney admits. “Wouldn’t the photos have at least popped up on the media somewhere?” 

“I haven’t heard anything about this from the Ashley-related accounts I follow,” Wendy admits since she is still a fan. 

“Which does make it more likely that she is a Heartfilia,” Capricorn says. 

Lucy agrees with that as well, but there is no definite answer. 

“Wait, Jude’s a Heartfilia, too,” Igneel comments, and looks over at him. “Have photos of you popped up?” 

“Nothing as of now,” he replies. 

“But he has more security than Lucy,” Grandeeney points out. “Putting it lightly, she is an easier target to follow compared to him.” 

At least now Lucy will have one or two people accompanying her, whether she is inside our outside of her apartment.

“And she’s out more in public than him,” Wendy adds. 

Maybe Lucy can just hide herself in her apartment and not leave until this all resolved–

Natsu abruptly stands up and speaks for the first time. “Hey, Luce? Can we talk? Alone?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: Tbh, I totally forgot to mention there were photos of Lucy and Natsu together since I wanted to make sure I had Lucy and others… So there was a special folder just of NaLu :P Then I added to it…
> 
> A/N Part 2: As for next week’s update, I’ll hafta see how that goes. I’ll be turning 21 next weekend and I’ll be away Sun-Tue. If I get the next update (since I try updating on my off days of Sun-Mon) done before, I’ll be sure to post! If not, it might come during another part of that week… No promises, but I think the lil’ break will do me good :D 
> 
> A/N Part 3: Pokémon Go anyone??? :D


	32. Chapter 32

Now Lucy and Natsu are alone in his bedroom. She remains standing in front of the closed door while he plops onto his bed. He moves his head to look over at her. “What are you doing?” he asks. 

She is bracing herself for the worst. “What do you mean?” 

He motions for her with a hand. “C’mon over here.” 

“I’m fine over here though.” For extra emphasis, she wraps her arms around herself before she leans against the door. 

“But you’re too far awayyy,” he whines, flailing around his outstretched hand. 

“What did you want to talk about?” Lucy asks, getting right to the point. 

With caution, he sits up. “Are you okay?” 

She blinks. “Huh?” 

Natsu stands up and slowly makes his way over to her. “Luce, are you okay? Well, more like how are you holding up with all of this?” He stops in front of her, looking down at her due to their height difference. “From how you were downstairs, I figured that you needed time alone. Err, alone time with just one person. Too many people and too many voices before.”

“You didn’t want us alone so you could break up with me?” she blurts. He did it because of her well-being. He can really read her well. 

He blinks once. Twice. Three times. “Why would I do _that ___?” he asks in shock.

“I’ll understand if you want to distance yourself from me–”

“Nope,” he interrupts, not meaning to be rude. 

She is surprised, her arms dropping to her sides. “Wait, what?” 

“You’re stuck with me.” He cracks a playful grin. “You should know that by now, weirdo.” 

“But you saw the photos,” she starts to babble. “You saw that certain one.” 

He merely shrugs. “Big deal.” 

“Natsu, there was an X drawn over you,” she stresses, trying to get through his skull. “A red _X ___drawn over _just you ___in a photo of us.”

“Better me than you!” he responds, losing his blazé composure slightly. 

Taken aback, Lucy’s mouth closes. She is not sure how to respond to something like that. 

He takes a deep breath before he starts speaking. “Apparently you’re in trouble for whatever reason and I can’t do a damn thing about it. I guess I could try something, but I have no clue on where to start.” He exhales loudly. “It’s a pretty shitty situation if you ask me…” 

“I’m sorry…” she mumbles. 

He tilts his head to one side. “Sorry? You’re sorry? For what? It’s not like this your fault.” 

“But–”

“Don’t go blaming it on yourself because you’re Ashley and a Heartfilia, okay? This isn’t your fault. Not one bit.” Natsu leans forward and wraps his arms around her for a tight embrace. “Okay?”

She finally gives in, somewhat feeling relieved. “All right.” 

“Good. That’s good…” Then his grip tightens around her and he lifts her right off her feet. He starts cackling as he heads over to his bed. “You’ve fallen for my trap!” 

Lucy has no chance of escaping. Her arms are trapped under his and he is physically too strong compared to her. “Natsu! Put me down!” 

Keeping his arms around her so they are together, Natsu falls sideways onto his bed so their legs are hanging over one of the edges. He snuggles into her and sighs. “This is wanted from the start. Snuggling time with my Luce.”

“Because I’m such a great snuggler,” she scoffs. 

“Well, not so much when you doze off and snore…” 

She gasps. “I do not! You’re the one who does that!” 

He chuckles. “Guilty!” Then he smooches her head. “You’re the cute one in this relationship. The cute as fuc–”

Without any warning, Lucy’s stomach rumbles and completely ruins the moment.

“Wow, did a whale just die?” Natsu asks. 

Her face heats up from embarrassment. “Hey!” 

“Have you eaten at all today?” he interrogates. “Because I know you skip meals when you’re stressed.” 

“Virgo made me breakfast…” she mumbles, avoiding eye contact with him. 

“I dunno who that is, but breakfast happened hours ago. Long hours ago.” 

She makes no comment. 

“Have you eaten since breakfast?” 

She has had no appetite. She tried eating a banana for a late lunch, but she could not get around to peeling it open. She ended up putting it back in the fruit bowl and walking away. 

“Luce…” he says after a moment of silence from her. 

“No,” she finally answers. 

“We have leftovers in the fridge.” Then Natsu goes about taking out his phone from his pocket. A few buttons later, he holds the device up to his ear that is not against the mattress and waits. 

Lucy is able to hear Wendy on the other end when she answers. 

“Natsu?” she asks. 

“Hey, Wendy,” he greets warmly. “I have a favor to ask.” 

“Aren’t you and Lucy still upstairs?” 

“Yeah, but I’m too lazy to go downstairs and leave Luce up here.” 

“Okay…” she says with uncertainty. 

“Can you bring up a plate of leftovers for Luce? She needs some food. She doesn’t eat when she’s stressed and her tummy doesn’t like that.” 

“Oh, sure thing!” 

“Thanks, Wendy!” 

“I’ll be up in a little bit then! Bye!” 

The call ends after that.

Natsu simply tosses his phone to the side so it is within reach of him. “Remind me to tell Goat Man to watch that you do eat. No more skipping meals for you, got it, Luce?”

“All right, Nanny Natsu,” she sasses. 

“That’s Boyfriend Nanny Natsu to you,” he sasses back without missing a note. 

She smiles a little. 

He gasps. “Hey, what’s that?” 

“What’s what?” 

He moves a hand to poke her cheek. “That? I’m pretty sure that it was a smile…” 

She smiles a little more because of his behavior. 

“There it is! A smile!” 

“Oh, stop it.” 

“Never.” Then he gives her a quick kiss on the lips. “Never ever.” 

“Why not?” 

“I love you”-he quickly kisses her forehead-“with the power of a thousand suns”-he pecks her right cheek-“exploding into a supernova”-he smooches her nose-“of kittens and rainbows.” Natsu seals the deal by sinking his lips into hers. 

Lucy completely melts into him. He knows just how to get to her. He always knows what to say. Now she feels warm. Now she feels safe.

**x-X-x ******

By now, Lucy has a full belly and she is sitting cross-legged on Natsu’s bed. Likewise, he is casually lying on his side with an arm propping his head up. The duo has been talking about anything that comes to their mind. Of course, they are avoiding taking about Natsu and his family going to Paris soon. It will be the longest time the couple has been apart since they met.

“All right, but what do you think–” Looking past Natsu, Lucy notices a particular book for the first time. It is the first book to series and has a bookmark sticking out towards the back of it. “Are you reading _Harry Potter ___… ?” she asks.

He cranes his neck around to look at it. “Oh, yeah. You have an interest in it so why not?” 

She smiles at his thoughtfulness. “You’re sweet.” 

He winks at her. “Not as sweet as you.” 

She playfully rolls her eyes before becoming excited. “Annnd? What do you think about it so far?” 

“Not bad. Not sure why I didn’t read before now.” Then he chuckles. “Oh, wait, that’s because I don’t read much.” 

Lucy points over to the books he does have on his bookshelf, noticing some copies that she has written. Most of them are about dragons judging from the titles. His tiara that she gave him yesterday is on display as well. “That says otherwise.” 

“Wendy has way more. She’ll need to get rid of books soon or get a bigger shelf.” 

She can understand that situation. “Or she can get a second one.” 

“Ooo, good point. I’ll make sure to mention that idea to her.” 

Wanting to lie down, Lucy grabs the empty plate and sets it down on the other nightstand. She looks at the nearby photo of the two of them and remembers to ask Natsu about it. “Hey, why do you have this?” She leans forward to grab it so she can hold it. “I meant to ask you about it sooner since I saw it yesterday when I changed in here.” 

“I’m not supposed to show people it since it deals with the add that isn’t released yet,” he explains. “Buuut Jason gave me a print they won’t be using. He remembered I liked it since I could see you.” 

Lucy makes a face before putting the frame back. “I think I look weird in it.” 

“I mean, you are a weirdo,” he teases. 

She playfully sticks her tongue out at him and lies down on her back, her feet on the end with his feet.

“But you’re my weirdo,” Natsu adds, booping the end of her nose. 

Just so she can face him, she rolls onto her side. “How did you get stuck with a weirdo like me?”

“I’m pretty sure it happened because of a pizza craving you were having…” he muses. 

She thinks about her favorite kind. “Mmm, pizza does sound good…” 

“Maybe next time.” 

Lucy scooches closer to her boyfriend so they can snuggle. His natural body heat is great, and he is like her personal furnace. She has no doubt he will be a great cuddle buddy in the winter. “Next time for sure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Today’s a good since it’s my birthday and I updated this work :D And as the bday girl, I decided to go with fluff amongst what’s happening in this arc! I had a chance to update today before I leave for my mini bday vacation! Woo~ Anyways, as if I could have Natsu break up with Lucy :P I’ll see y’all in the next update!!


	33. Chapter 33

When Lucy comes to, her eyes focus up on a ceiling she is not familiar with. She hears someone softly snoring off to her left and she turns her head to look. On his left side, Natsu is snoozing away with his right arm thrown over his girlfriend to keep her close. Her body stiffens up in an instant. Why are the two of them sharing a bed? She should be in her own bed without a cuddle buddy. What is going on?

Lucy tries to sit up slowly, but Natsu reacts to her attempting to leave him. His grip around her tightens and he pulls her closer to him, nuzzling her arm with his face. Then he becomes still after relaxing once again. 

Accepting her fate, Lucy glances around only to find that she is inside of Natsu’s room. Now that she thinks about, she does not recall leaving last night. Had she been so tired that she fell asleep? Someone clearly took care of duo since a blanket is over them. 

Natsu inhales deeply, taking in her oh-so familiar scent. “Luce…” he mumbles in his sleep. “My Luce…”

Happy. She feels happy. The motion is humming through her. Using her left hand to reach over and runs her fingers through his hair. She lightly drags her fingers across his scalp at certain points. Then she absentmindedly starts singing under her breath.

_You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. ___

_You make me happy when skies are grey. ___

_You never know, dear, how much I love you. ___

_Please don’t take my sunshine away. ___

Surprising Lucy so much that she stops working her fingers through his hair, Natsu starts singing a song in French to a similar tune.

_Tu es mon rayon de soleil, tu es mon seul rayon de soleil. ___

_Tu ne sauras jamais comment je t’aime. ___

_S’il vous plait ne m’enlève pas mon rayon de soleil. ___

_Natsu finally peeks open an eye at her. “Bonjour.” ___

“Good morning to you, too,” she says. Lucy has been trying to learn basic French in her spare time so she knows what he just said to her. “How long have you been awake?”

“Since you started petting me,” he replies. 

“Too bad you didn’t purr for me when I did,” she teases. 

Just to sass her, Natsu does. Then he becomes obnoxious about it. 

Lucy laughs. “You’re such a weirdo.” 

“You must be rubbing off on me,” he says, propping himself up with a hand. 

She flips onto her side to face him. “You wish.” 

“Not that I’m complaining, but why are you here?” 

“I’m guessing we fell asleep together after talking so much. But I have no idea why someone didn’t come up here so I’d go home with them.” 

“It’s like they left you alone so we could be together.” 

“Maybe they thought it would do me good,” Lucy muses. 

“Us,” he corrects. “Do us good.” 

She smiles a little. “Right.” 

Natsu removes his hand from Lucy to dig around in a pocket. “Huh?” he says, making a face. 

“What’s wrong?” she asks. 

“I can’t find my phone…” Then he cranes his neck around until he finds it on the nearby nightstand, plugged into a white cord. “That’s weird…” 

“Oh, my phone didn’t charge all night!” Lucy realizes, sitting up to get a hold of her phone. However, she does not find it on her person.

“Uh, you sure about that?” Natsu questions. 

“I never charged it.” 

Natsu points with a finger. “Looks like somebody else did.” 

She looks to where he is pointing to find her phone resting on the nightstand by her. It is plugged into a pink charger cord that winds down to an outlet in the wall. A light is glowing, letting her know there are unread notifications. “Is that your charger?” 

“Nope. I only have one and it’s white. Easier to spot in the dark that way.” 

“So someone put a blanket over us and charged our phones for us?” Lucy pieces together. She supposes that makes enough sense. Clearly they did not mind her and Natsu sharing his bed. 

“I guess so. Nice of ’em to do that for us.” 

She reaches for her phone and unplugs it, the screen lighting up. She notices it is fully charged, but what really catches her attention are all of the notifications. There are text messages, missed phone calls, and voicemails. Different social media accounts all of things she needs to check as well. “What… ?” 

“What’s wrong?” Natsu asks, reaching for his phone. 

“I think something happened while we were out.” Lucy decides to look at the text messages first and finds different people from her father to Yukino have texted her. Others like Gray and Levy have as well. She checks what Jude has to say first. 

Father: I’m not sure how you will find out the news first, but someone has exploited your secret of Ashley and Lucy Heartfilia. The media and everyone knows you are the same person. 

Her secret. Her well-protected secret is out. The entire world now knows that Ashely the author’s real name is Lucy Heartfilia. Mortification washes over her. “Oh, no…” she breathes. 

“What’s wrong?” Natsu questions, going through his own phone. He skims through some text messages. “Oh. Oh, no.” He jerks his head up to look at Lucy. “Luce.” 

She cannot tear her eyes away from the screen of her phone.

Yukino: It seems that your secret is out! It’s everywhere that Ashley’s secret identity is Lucy Heartfilia! I don’t know how this happened!

Yukino: We’ll get through this, Lucy! I promise that things will work out!

Natsu is quick to snatch Lucy’s phone away so she no longer can see. 

She finally looks over at him, slowing turning her head to do so. “N-Natsu…” she murmurs. Her eyes are glassing over already. 

He scooches over to hug her tightly. “This is not how I wanted you to start this morning,” he admits. “I only want happy tears from you. Not sad ones. Only happy ones.” 

“Whoever is messing with me, they somehow found out about me,” Lucy says numbly. She does not even have the strength to hug him back. “But I don’t know how. I’ve been so careful about things.” 

“We’ll get ’em, Luce. They won’t get away with this.” 

Lucy wants to belief him. She really does.

**x-X-x ******

A couple of hours later, Lucy is still at the Dragneel’s house. Natsu has since left for his pizza delivering job, but she is able to hang out with the other members of the family. Currently, she and Wendy are in the family room, each with a cat on their lap. Happy is purring loudly, perfectly content with the attention he is receiving from Lucy’s hands. He is flopped over on his back so she can scratch his belly.

Lucy mind is going back and forth between her Ashley/Lucy Heartfilia situation and anything but that. She has debated making a video admitting to her true identity and posting it on her various Ashley media accounts. However, she has not brought herself to do it. Plus, petting Happy is a good distraction for her. 

“Do you girls need anything?” Grandeeney calls from the kitchen. 

“Do you need anything?” Wendy asks, looking at Lucy. 

She shakes her head. 

“No thanks, Mom!” Wendy responds. 

Suddenly, there is a knock on the front door. 

“I’ll get it,” Grandeeney says so the girls do not bother standing up. 

“Hello, hello!” an unfamiliar, male voice greets. “I’m here to pick up, Miss Lucy!” 

“Oh, come in then,” Grandeeney says. 

“Thank you kindly!” the man says. 

“Someone’s already here to get you?” Wendy asks. 

“I did text Capricorn that I’d need a ride,” Lucy responds. “He’s very efficient in getting things done. 

“He totally is.” Then she chuckles. “He’s like the opposite of Natsu!” 

Both girls laugh. 

Grandeeney and an unfamiliar man round the corner and approach the family room. More on the tall side of things, he has long, wavy dark locks and dark eyes. He is wearing a green vest, black pants, and black boots. 

The man smiles when she sees Lucy. “Hello, hello, Miss Lucy! My name is Sagittarius, and I’m here to take you to your apartment!” 

After gently removing Happy from her lap, she stands up. “Thank you for doing this for me.” 

“Not a problem at all!” Sagittarius assures her. “Just doing my job!” 

Lucy looks back at Wendy to wave goodbye. “Thanks for keeping me company.” 

Wendy holds Carla when she stands up. “It was fun.” A thought occurs to her. “Oh, text me when you get home, all right? That way I can let Natsu know.” 

“I’ll be sure to do that,” Lucy says, and looks at Grandeeney. “Thanks again.” 

She smiles. “You’re always welcome here. You know that.” 

“It’s a great thing to know.” Lucy finally faces Sagittarius who will take her home. “Shall we go?”

He gestures for Lucy to go ahead first. “After you!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: Woo, I finally introduced another Celestial Spirit :D Yay for Sagittarius!! Also, a special thank you to MarSofTheGalaxies from FFnet for giving me the French translation of that song! You rock!!
> 
> A/N Part 2: If y’all could PM pucksabrinadaphne on FFnet to place your vote for Cute as Fuck as The Favorite Fairy Tail Fanfiction 2016 story, that would be wonderful :D And a huge thank to those of you who already have :D CAF is in Primary Round, but I’m curious to see how far it can go!
> 
> A/N Part 3: Thank you to all for the birthday wishes!! A friend from Tumblr with the username of tobethefairybest even made me art and it’s super awesome (smiling Natsu is always great to see)!! I had a blast on my mini vacation with my friends :D It was great to relax and not worry about updating, even if I did sneak writing a little on my phone :P THANKS AGAIN! Y’ALL ARE


	34. Chapter 34

Lucy is back at her apartment, and Sagittarius is keeping her company so she is not alone. She has since occupied her time by showering and cleaning up the place a little. When she realized that she cannot stall any longer, she got to work. Doing research that is. 

“So an unknown person somehow figured that Lucy Heartfilia and Ashley the author is the same person,” Lucy says, thinking out loud to help herself. She has gone through online articles and news reports about the matter. 

Sagittarius nods in agreement. “Indeed.” 

“I haven’t pieced together how they pieced that together.” 

“A mystery for now.”

“I also can’t understand why they didn’t claim the credit for figuring something like that out…” 

“Strange indeed.”

Lucy stands up from the couch and starts pacing the family room, the gears in her mind turning. “There’s something that’s bugging me…” 

“What is it?”

“Are these recent events connected? Someone or a group has followed me, Lucy Heartfilia, around and taken pictures. Not to mention Natsu, too. Did they happen to find out that I’m Ashley as well?” 

“That might be a possibility.” 

“Or am I just having a horrible week?” 

“That is another possibility.” 

Lucy groans. “This week needs to be over already.” She has been through a lot the past forty-eight hours.

“Well, tomorrow is Sunday.” 

Getting things back to normal will be great. Although, she doubts things ever will be. 

Someone knocks on the front door in a particular way. 

“Capricorn, you can come in,” Lucy says, not bothering to open it since it is unlocked. 

Sure enough when the door opens, Capricorn enters the apartment. 

“Hello, hello,” Sagittarius greets. 

Capricorn looks at him. “I am here to relieve you for you now.” 

“I shall be on my way then.” Sagittarius faces Lucy and bows at his waist. “Until next time, Lucy.” 

“Thanks again for picking me up,” she says. 

“It was no trouble at all.” After waving goodbye, Sagittarius leaves the apartment and closes the door behind him. 

“How are you?” Capricorn asks. 

“I’ve been better,” she admits. 

“Do you need anything?”

“I need answers.” 

“Don’t we all?” he agrees. 

“Do you think me being followed and the news this morning are connected?” Lucy asks, expecting an honest answer. 

“I am not sure entirely.” 

Her mood deflates. 

“It seems likely that they can be,” he mentions. 

“That’s what I think. Besides, what are the odds of them not being connected? One happened right before the other.” 

“Exactly. Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing for sure.” 

“Yeah, I know.” 

“You have always been careful about keeping Ashley’s true identity a secret. I doubt that you accidently slipped something up.” 

“So maybe this unnamed person stumbled across some connection somehow?” Although, Lucy is quite sure that she has kept all lines crossed. At that rate, the person must have done some serious digging to make any possible connection. 

“The last time Lucy Heartfilia was photographed and appeared in the news was shortly after your mother’s death. Your father made sure to keep you out of the public eye after that. It was almost as though his daughter just simply disappeared. Like magic.” 

“I was younger back then, and I’ve changed. Do you think that person came across an old photograph of me and saw a similarity with Ashley?” 

“That is my best lead.” 

Someone knocks on the front door. 

“Are you expecting company?” Capricorn asks. 

“No one mentioned they were visiting,” she replies. 

Since Capricorn is right there, he looks through the eye hole. “Oh,” is all he has to say about the matter. Then he steps away from the door and heads for the kitchen. 

“Oh?” Lucy echoes.

Capricorn makes no comment. 

“ _Oh ___?” she stresses.

However, she is met with silence. 

Curiosity gets the better of her and Lucy decides to check for herself. She is surprised at who she sees, but she is eager to open the door for them. 

“Hiya,” Natsu greets with a grin, and holds out the warm pizza box in his hands. Out of his work uniform, he is wearing black jeans and a grey tee shirt. “I gotcha something special.” 

She smiles at his thoughtfulness. “You remembered…” 

“Of course, I did.” After he steps into the apartment, two others step into view from each side of the hallway and follow in after him. They are practically identical except for the fact one is a guy and the other is a girl. They look to be around Lucy’s age if not maybe even a little younger. 

“Uh, who are you two?” Lucy questions, taking a step back. 

“Meet Gemi and Mini! Together they are Gemini!” Natsu introduces. “Capricorn told them to watch over me. Kinda like how you’ve had people watch over you.” 

“Hello, Miss Lucy!” they say in unison. 

“Hey,” she says. 

Gemi shuts the door now that everyone is inside. 

Something dawns on Lucy, and she looks at her boyfriend. “Wait, why are you here?” she asks. 

He gives her quizzically look. “Because I brought you pizza… ?” 

“It’s not close to five o’clock though. You should still be at work.” 

“Oh, yeah. That.” Natsu walks over to the coffee table and sets down the pizza box before sitting down on the couch. “I got off sooner than I thought. I got my schedule mixed up.” 

Lucy walks over so she can join him on the couch. “Which means that I do get to see you today.” 

“Well, you already saw me today,” he says with a smirk. “We did sleep together, remember?” 

She blushes. “Not like that!” Then she realizes Gemi and Mini are present and whips her head over to look at them, wanting to explain the misunderstanding. However, they are nowhere to be found. They must be in the kitchen with Capricorn. “Where did they go?” 

“They do that a lot.” Natsu gets started on opening the pizza and grabbing his first slice. “You get used to it after the first couple of times.” 

Lucy grabs her own slice and takes a bite of the delicious pizza. Then she sits back, leaning against Natsu’s left shoulder, and he flinching in pain. “Are you all right?” she asks. 

“I’m fine,” he replies. “You just startled me.” 

However, she is not buying that. “You made it seem like I hurt you…” 

“Well, you are kinda heavy…” 

“Hey!” Lucy protests, whacking his shoulder. 

He winces through clenched teeth. 

“Did you hurt yourself?” she interrogates. 

“You’re making it seem like I’m accident prone.” 

“You didn’t answer my question.” Taking matters into her own hands, Lucy sets her slice of pizza down and takes a hold of his sleeve. She pushes it up and finds a bandage is wrapped around his upper arm. “What _happened ___?”

“Don’t panic.” 

Her emotions are really bubbling now. “I’m already panicking!” 

“Capricorn already knows because of Gemini since they told him,” he begins. “I didn’t wanna tell you so you didn’t worry. You have enough on your mind as is.” 

“Tell me. What happened. Now.” 

He cannot avoid the truth any longer. He sets down his pizza and turns so he can give her his full attention. He adjusts his sleeve so she no longer has to look at his bandage. “I was making deliveries like normal with Gemini following me in their own car. Just to keep tabs on me. I got back to the pizzeria to pick up more pizzas when it happened.” 

Is the room getting hot? Is the air thicker than normal? Lucy feels uncomfortable. 

“Some guy approached me, calling me my name and acting like he knew me. I thought maybe we had met before, but I couldn’t remember him. You know me and my memory, especially with meeting new people. Anyways, he, uh, came at me with a knife. Just a knick, nothing severe as you can see.” 

Her lungs feel tight. A ball is forming in her throat. 

“The guy got away. He had some getaway car ready without any plates. Mini patched me up. Gemi called Capricorn. Laxus was in charge for the day, and he sent me home.” 

Even Capricorn did not tell her… It seems like everyone was leaving her out of the loop on purpose. 

“You got hurt… because of me…” she breathes, looking at where his injury is. 

“I’m pretty sure I got hurt because of the dude who tried hurting me.” 

Lucy looks him in the eye. “But he did hurt you!” 

He shrugs. “Eh, I’ve had worse. You’ve seen the scars I have. You know I’ve had worse.” 

She opens her mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. She is struggling to find the right words.

“I’ll be fine, Luce,” Natsu assures her. “I’m a tough guy.” 

She thinks back to the photo of him that is marked with a red X. “You’re a target because of _me ___. You’ll always be a target because of _me ___.”

“I’ll stop being a target whenever this person is caught. And I don’t mean the guy from earlier.” 

As long as he has the current connection to her, he will be a target until this person or group is caught. Lucy stands up to start pacing, her mind racing with thoughts. A possible solution is coming to mind. She comes to a still and looks at Natsu. “We should break up.” 

He looks at her like his entire world is falling apart. “What?” he whispers with disbelief. 

“You’re a target because of me.” 

“I told you that I wouldn’t break up with you because of what’s happening.” 

Looking away, she swallows hard and wraps her arms around herself. “I never said the same for me…” 

The room is filled with a booming silence. Lucy is avoiding eye contact while Natsu can only stare at her. 

“Just how is the news of our breakup supposed to spread, huh?” he asks bitterly, rising to his feet. 

“I’m sure something can be arranged. After all, Lucy Heartfilia is all over the news. I’m sure reporters will love to hear about her recent breakup.” 

While Natsu cannot believe the words he is hearing, Lucy cannot believe the words she is saying. None of this can be really happening. It must be some twisted dream. 

Having made up his mind, Natsu approaches Lucy. She looks down at her feet so she does not look at his face. Then she watches him hold out a hand for her to see, his middle finger over his index finger. 

“They’ve been crossed. What’s happening now doesn’t count for me.” Then Natsu engulfs her in a tight hug, not wanting to believe this will be the last time he will hold her like this.

Lucy’s arms feel like heavy weights. She cannot lift them. She cannot return the embrace. 

“I love you, Luce,” Natsu says gently. “I’ll getcha back when this is all over.” 

She wants to smile. She really wants to. But she does not. The effort is too great. 

When he pulls away, she feels cold. Lucy wants to reach out and hold onto his warmth, but she stops herself from doing that. As Natsu heads for the door, she keeps her back to him. She knows that if she takes one look at him, she will break down. She will lose it. 

Without a word from him, the door opens and shuts after he leaves. 

Even with her heart wrenching, she reasons with herself this is a good choice. It should mean Natsu will be safe until the storm passes. 

Gemi and Mini quietly excuse themselves from the apartment in order to go after Natsu. They are still sticking with him because of Capricorn.

Capricorn slowly walks out of the kitchen. “Do you really believe that was the best thing to do?” he inquires. 

“He got hurt because of me.” She fights back tears. “And you didn’t tell me what happened.” 

“Natsu asked me not to tell you.” 

“Did you really think it was best for me not to know?”

No words come from Capricorn about the matter. 

“I’m going jogging,” Lucy announces. 

“I can accompany–” Capricorn begins. 

“I want to go by myself,” she interrupts, not meaning to be rude. “I need alone time. Please.” 

Capricorn is silent for a moment. “If that is what you really want,” he says, giving in to her state of being. 

She cannot bring herself to look at him. “Thank you…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I hope y’all didn’t have false hope that NaLu would be fine…


	35. Chapter 35

Lucy’s body hurts. Her legs might as well be jelly. She is dripping sweat, and wants a shower. Her jog had turned into a run at a point, but now she is sitting down on a park bench, elbows on her knees as she leans forward. 

She takes out her phone and checks it. No important text messages or missed calls. Not even a word from Natsu. Not that she cares. 

However, no one has messaged her about their break up. Perhaps Natsu has not said a word about their current relationship status. Although, it is not even a break up. Maybe just a break. Well, it is more like Lucy pushing Natsu away so he cannot get hurt.

The bandages flash through her mind. 

No. He already did get hurt because of his ties with her.

Lucy’s goes into her texting app and selects Natsu’s name. She reads the last message he sent her. 

_Natsu: I’m literally sitting in my car before I go into work and I know I just saw you, but I wanna say that I love you! So have a good day, babe! :D ___

Her heart squeezes, and she looks away from the screen to distract herself. She focuses on a nearby, lovey-dovey married couple on a bench. The beautiful woman has long, light blue hair that reaches past her waist and dark ocean blue eyes. Her dress is cute and reminds Lucy of fish scales. The man with darker skin than his wife has short-kept hair, the right half of it being red while the rest of is white, and dark eyes. 

They are happy as can be, just sitting on the bench with each other. 

She wants to have that with Natsu. Wait, what is Lucy doing? She had been doing that with Natsu not too long ago. Well, minus the being married to each other part. She cannot just toss aside what she has with Natsu. She needs to set things right with him. 

She turns on her phone, finding she is still under Natsu’s contact, and hits the phone button to call him. Her phone automatically dials it, and she holds the device up to her ear. She stares at her shoes while she waits, holding her breath and hoping he does pick up. 

He answers after the second ring. “Luce?” 

She smiles a little just because of the sound of his voice. “Hey, Natsu.” 

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” 

“I mean, I’ve been better,” she admits honestly. “A lot going on right now. A lot of stress.” 

“I can only imagine.” 

She swallows hard, gathering some courage before speaking. “Hey, about earlier…” 

“Look, about that–”

“I was stupid,” Lucy interrupts, not meaning to be rude. 

He is quiet on the other end of the line.

“I shouldn’t have said what I said. I just want you safe. I don’t want you to be affected because of what’s happening to me now.” 

“We’ll get through whatever this is together.” 

Yes. Together. Because they are stronger and better together. After all, it is always more fun when the other is around. 

“Didn’t I tell you that I’d getcha back after all this is over?” Natsu reminds her. 

She can hear the smile in his voice. “I remember that.” 

“You should know by now that you’re stuck with me.” 

“I don’t think there’s anyone else that I’d want to be stuck with.” 

He chuckles. “Good. That’s good to hear.” 

“So are we… good?” 

“We’re great.” 

“That’s great to hear.” She sits up, leaning her back against the bench and lifts her head to look up. Dread washes over her. A group of people with cameras heading right for her like a swarm. “Natsu, I think I have to go…” 

“Go? Why? What’s wrong?” He does not mean to sound worried, but he is. He cannot see what is happening around her. 

“Paparazzi.” 

“They found you?” 

“I don’t know how.” 

“Where are you?” 

“I’m at the park I like jogging at.” She stands up, getting a feel for how her legs are after how hard she pushed herself earlier. “But I think it’s time that I leave.” 

“Do you need me to get you?” 

Lucy starts walking away, hoping the paparazzi are after someone else and not her. Although, she highly doubts it. Her face has been all over the news all because she is Ashley and Lucy Heartfilia. “You should go to my apartment. Meet me there.” 

“I’ll race you,” Natsu challenges, trying to make the mood better. 

“You’re on,” she accepts. 

“I love you,” he says, really meaning it.

“I love you, too. See you soon.” 

“Bye!” Then he hangs up. 

Lucy keeps a hold of her phone and starts running. 

Of course, the paparazzi go after her, picking up their pace the best they can with their equipment. Some people pull ahead while others fall a little behind. 

Her mind starts racing. What does she do? Will it be best for her to try and lose them before going home? She does not want them to know where she lives. That will not be good. Maybe calling Capricorn and asking for his help will be best. 

Seeing how close they are to closing in on her, Lucy steals a glance over her shoulder. The married couple from the bench is attempting to hold off the paparazzi! She has no clue as to why they are doing that. It is not like they know her. 

Lucy receives an expected option to get out of the situation when she spots an unfamiliar woman standing by a running vehicle parked along the nearby sidewalk. More on the tall side, the woman has dark hair falling a few inches past her shoulders and brown eyes with round glasses in front of them. A white, knee length lab coat is over her green halter top and pink skirt. The look is completed with white sandals and a hat.

“Lucy, I’m here to get you!” the woman shouts, waving her arms above of her to get Lucy’s attention. “Capricorn’s orders!” 

Leave it to Capricorn to make sure that she is all right! She supposes that she will have to thank him when she sees him. So Lucy changes her course slightly and races for the car. 

The woman moves to be on the other side, readying to get in and drive. “Hop in and I’ll drive!” 

Lucy throws open the door and gets inside, shutting it behind her. Then she is caught off-guard when she sees what is in front of her. It is a panel of glass sealed with rubber that is separating the car in half. She feels on edge now. And the car has a weird, sweet-smelling scent to it.

With the woman sitting in the driver’s seat, she shuts her own door and puts a foot to the gas pedal. 

“What’s with your car?” Lucy asks, trying to keep her voice from wavering. 

“Oh, I’ve tweaked this car with some inventions of mine!” she says excitedly, her voice sounding off due to the glass between them. 

“Is that so?” Trying to be inconspicuous, Lucy attempts to take out her cell phone to call Capricorn. 

“Yes, yes, yes!” the woman responds. “I’m an inventor you know! For example, one of them”-she makes eye contact using the review mirror-“jams cell phones.” 

Lucy stiffens up. All right. She needs a new plan. No time to be stealthy about things. She slips her cell phone away so she still has it on her, and tries opening the car door. However, she has no luck. 

“Child locks do wonders, don’t you think?” the woman asks. 

Since Lucy never put on her seat belt, she is able to slide across the seat with ease to try the handle. Unfortunately, it is locked, too. Panic is rising quickly in her and her breathing quickens. The smell is getting to her now. In fact, she feels as though her extremities are starting to go numb. She shakes her head, thinking she is just over reacting to the situation. “You’re crazy!” 

The woman merely chuckles. “I’ll take that as a compliment!” Then she gasps at a realization. “Oh, I don’t think I mentioned this before! My name is Daphne!” 

She is not familiar with that name. She can only hope that she is not supposed to know that name. 

“Oh, maybe he didn’t mention me to you before.” Daphne simply shrugs and keeps her eyes on the road. “Oh, well! You’ll learn about me soon enough!” 

Letting her emotions get the better of her, Lucy tries pounding fists against the glass.

“That won’t do a thing,” Daphne says.

There is no way Lucy is hitting hard enough to really lose feeling in her hands. Not to mention her legs. What is happening to her? “What are you doing to me?” she demands.

“That must be the chloroform you smell!” Daphne says matter-of-factly, her voice sounding funnier than usual. “You should be numb by now. Your vision and hearing will start to fail you next. And before you know it, you’ll be unconscious!” 

Lucy’s blood runs cold. Or maybe it runs warm. It is getting hard to tell exactly how she is feeling. It all seems confusing. She shakes her head to try and clear her mind. Escape. She needs to escape. 

She looks around for anything that she can use to break a window. She knows headrests are removable so the metal rods can be used to shatter windows. However, the headrests in the back are gone, and she cannot use the ones up front because the glass is separating them from Lucy. Things are not looking good for her. 

Lucy ends up slumping over, lying across the backseat. Her gaze is up on the ceiling, but everything is shifting around. She feels as though she is going to be sick. 

“Just go… flow of things,” Daphne instructs, her voice fading in and out because of Lucy’s hearing. “It’ll be… way.” 

Lucy has no idea when the shadows claim her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: First of all, as if Capricorn would let Lucy be on her own :P He sent Aquarius and Scorpio to follow her and keep tabs on her. And for those who figured out who Daphne was before her name was mentioned, good on ya! For those who aren’t familiar with her, she’s an anime-only character who appears in the Daphne Arc! I was thinking about using a dark guild or Jose, but I realllly wanted to do something different! So I thought about past villains from the manga/anime and Daphne came to mind!
> 
> A/N Part 2: GUYS, WE MADE IT TO CHAPTER 35 :D WOO~ AGAIN, THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A ONE-SHOT X’D But I’m happy with how it’s turning out so far :) Thank you all again sooo much for giving CAF the attention it has received so far!! 
> 
> A/N Part 3: This will be the last time I post this here since voting ends August 9th (tomorrow)! If y’all could PM pucksabrinadaphne on FFnet to place your vote for Cute as Fuck as The Favorite Fairy Tail Fanfiction 2016 story, that would be wonderful :D And a huge THANK YOU to those of you who already have :D CAF is in Primary Round, but I’m curious to see how far it can go!


	36. Chapter 36

**Thank you all who informed me that CAF was being posted on theangryninja’s account on Wattpad! It has since been removed :D It does get to me a little when I learn someone has stolen my work(s). Kinda makes me wanna stop posting and take down my accounts. But I’m too stubborn for that :P ******

**x-X-x ******

Natsu is currently walking down the hallway, the door to Lucy’s apartment in sight. There is a certain skip in his step since he is eager to his Luce again after the last time they saw each other in person. He knows why she did what she did, but he knows that are better together.

Gemi and Mini are trailing behind him since they are still keeping tabs on him. 

Not bothering to knock, Natsu opens up the door and strolls inside. “Lu–” He stops talking when he spots Capricorn alone in the family room. 

Capricorn seems highly surprised to see Natsu, not so much Gemi and Mini. “What are you doing here?” he inquires, lowering his cell phone to simply hold it at his right side. 

Natsu grins. “I’m meeting Luce!” 

“What? Why?” 

“Luce had called me when she was at the park. We made up.” 

“They’re back together!” Gemi and Mini cheer in unison. They had seen Natsu in a curled-up-on-his-bed-and-not-moving state. He only acted different when Lucy’s ringtone had started going off. He would have answered it sooner if he did not accidently drop his phone onto the floor in his scramble to answer the call. 

“Aquarius and Scorpio did mention that she was on the phone,” Capricorn comments. “It must have been with you.” 

“Yep! So where is she?” An idea comes to Natsu. “Oh, maybe she’s in the shower–” 

“People are attempting to figure out Miss Lucy’s location as we speak,” Capricorn interrupts, not meaning to be rude.

Natsu blinks. “Huh?” 

“Did something happen–” Gemi starts. 

“To Miss Lucy?” Mini finishes. 

Capricorn looks at Natsu as he speaks. “Miss Lucy wanted to go jogging, but wanted to go alone. I had Aquarius and Scorpio secretly follow to ensure her safety. They said that when Miss Lucy finished running, she made a phone call. Paparazzi somehow found her, and we believe they were informed of her whereabouts.”

Natsu does not like where this story is going. 

“In attempts to allow Miss Lucy to escape, Aquarius and Scorpio held off the paparazzi. A white, four-door car had been parked and ready nearby. The driver was waiting and flagged her down. For an unknown reason, Miss Lucy willing got inside.” 

“Does anyone know–” Mini starts. 

“Who the driver is?” Gemi finishes. 

“The photos the paparazzi took had filled in what Aquarius and Scorpio did not see happen,” Capricorn responds. “We have since identified the kidnapper as Daphne. She and Jude were supposed to have a business partnership together, but he turned her down. He believed that she would not make it in the long wrong after he thought things over.” 

Natsu is trying to find the sliver of silver lining in this situation. “So we know about the kidnapper. Great. Do we know where they are now?” 

“Not at the moment,” Capricorn replies.

“Can’t you, like, use Luce’s phone to track her down?” Natsu asks, the desperation easily heard in his voice.

Capricorn shakes his head. “The signal is being blocked. We have no means of tracking Miss Lucy and Daphne down as of now.” 

No. Natsu is the one who had an X drawn over him in a photo. Not Lucy. This cannot be happening to her. She cannot be missing. 

Are the apartment walls closing in on him? Does the room feel hotter? 

Natsu jumps a little when Capricorn places a hand on his shoulder. He did not even notice Capricorn walk towards him. 

“That does not mean that we will not find them.” Capricorn offers a little smile of assurance. “Miss Lucy will come home.”

**x-X-x (POV change) x-X-x ******

When Lucy comes to, she feels all fuzzy and heavy. She is trying to remember why she feels like this when she recalls what had happened. She bolts upright into a sitting position and looks around. Her eyes grow wide as she takes in her surroundings.

The square white room is small and compact with not much too it. Three of the walls are normal while the remaining one has a giant glass window and a solid metal door. Lucy is sitting on some giant pillow that might as well be a large dog bed. The only other object in the room is a bucket in the opposite corner from her. She can only guess the purpose of that… 

Lucy feels like some animal at an exhibit. She is on display for whoever looks through the glass. 

Finding her land legs, Lucy stumbles towards the door and tries the handle only to find it is locked. She pounds a fist against is in frustration. 

Over speakers, Daphne’s voice sounds from all around the room. “Good morning, Sleeping Beauty!” 

Morning? Is it really morning? Has Lucy been out for that long? 

“Did you really think that I would leave the door unlocked for you?” Daphne chuckles. 

Lucy merely steps back and looks around in attempts to locate Daphne. She stops as she watches Daphne approaches her from the other side of the glass.

“Aww, am I getting the silent treatment?” Daphne inquires. 

Lucy only glares.

“Don’t give me that look!” She gasps at an idea. “Oh, I know what will cheer you up! Yes, I do! It’s time for story time on why things are the way they are now!” 

Lucy mentally groans. It is time for the bad guy’s monologue…

“I happened to have an injury and was at the hospital for treatment. There was a pink-haired guy there, and he being loud and demanding to know about his girlfriend named Lucy. I tried ignoring him the best that I could. Then, low and behold, there was a blonde girl with Capricorn. Now, I know Capricorn because of Jude, and the fact the two are normally around each other. So it wasn’t hard to figure out who that Lucy was.

“It’s known that Jude has a daughter named Lucy, but she hasn’t been in the public eye for years. Around the time of her mother’s death in fact. Speaking of Layla, you look just like her. There’s no denying that. Anyways, slight plot twist, Jude’s daughter has been very public. She’s just been using a different name…”

So it had been easy enough for Daphne to piece together that Lucy Heartfilia and Ashley are the same person. She found the connection, and then made is public for everyone to know. 

“The moment I saw you in the hospital was when I hatched my plan. I knew the pictures would get to you. It had been a crack in your privacy. It was moments you shared with people that you believed nobody was paying attention to.” 

“So why target Natsu?” Lucy demands, speaking for the first time. 

“All of the pictures with and of him were just to mess with you. Especially the one with that red X over him. Of course, people believed that he was more of a target than you. You did, too! And to even sweeten the deal, I paid a guy to scare your boyfriend. Although, he had a little too much fun with that knife of his. But I did all of that to cause some disturbance and weaken your state of being!” A malicious grin spreads across Daphne’s face. “The target the entire time has been”-she points a finger directly at Lucy-“you! Miss Lucy Heartfilia!” 

It had been a trick. Lucy had been worrying about Natsu for nothing. She should have worried about herself more. “You kidnapped me. Good for you. So what now?”

Daphne wags a finger. “I doubt that _anybody ___will find us. This is my lab and it’s a secret one.” She crosses his arms under her chest, looking smug and pleased with herself. “You don’t even know where we are!”

Lucy will not give in and give her the satisfaction she wants. So she changes the topic. “Did you tip off the paparazzi about me being at the park?”

“Bingo! They caused the distraction I needed. And you trusted me since I mentioned Capricorn’s name. It all worked out perfectly! Even better than I calculated actually!” 

“So it’s safe to say that you were the unknown person who discovered my identity.” 

“Exposing Ashley as Lucy Heartfilia only jacked up your price!” 

Lucy feels left out of the loop. “Price? What price?” 

“Oh, I haven’t even told you why I kidnapped you in the first place! I should have given that back story first I suppose.” 

Lucy is already tired of all the talking Daphne has been doing. She will rather hear silence than listen to her blab. 

“I need money for research and creating my inventions. Jude was supposed to loan me money after doing business with me. On the day the deal was supposed to go down, he said that he didn’t want to partner with me anymore. He didn’t even say why! I vowed to make him pay and I’m going to do just that!” 

“I doubt that my father with pay a ransom for me–”

Interrupting Lucy, Daphne starts laughing. “Who said anything about ransoming you to _him ___?”

Dread washes over Lucy. 

Daphne’s eyes are practically sparkling. “I already have other buyers lined up for you! The highest one gets the blonde prize!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Yay for bad guy monologue and dialogue! So that’s how things are pieced together!


	37. Chapter 37

Lucy is not entirely sure how long she has been inside of the confinement room. There is no visible clock from her perspective. She has tried looking into Daphne’s lab, but all she can see are computers and gadgets, some of which look complete while others seem close to it. 

Suddenly, a timer over by Daphne’s computer work station goes off. “It’s din-din time!” she exclaims. 

Din-din? As in dinner? If Daphne told her good morning maybe an hour or two ago, there is no way that it can be possibly be dinner time. Maybe it still is the same day that she has been kidnapped! 

But speaking of dinner, Lucy is rather hungry. Not that she will admit it out loud to Daphne. She does not want that woman having any satisfaction. 

All while humming to some tune, Daphne reaches down to a spot Lucy cannot see due to the window cutting her off. So she stands up to watch Daphne as she takes out two lunchboxes from a nearby drawer. She rises from her seat, sets the green one onto her chair, and walks over to the window with the black one in hand. 

Lucy realizes that Daphne had all of it planned out that she even made sure to pack a second one just for her. She calculated when she would kidnap Lucy down to the day. 

Daphne stands on the other side of the window, holding up the lunchbox. She uses a sweet voice as though she is talking to a dog. “Go to bed now! Go to bed!” 

Lucy remains rooted in place as she stands in the middle of the room on the floor. The bed is still in the corner behind her. She will not turn her back to Daphne or even step back to still face her. 

“If you don’t sit on your bed, you won’t get any din-din…” Daphne says. 

Lucy refuses to budge. She will not give in to the ridiculous request. 

Realizing she will not have any fun with this, Daphne harrumphs. “Fine. Have it your way. But if you make a move to escape, you won’t get any din-din.” So she walks over to the door and opens it with caution, making sure that Lucy will not get the jump on her. She quickly sets down the lunchbox and closes the door in a hurry. After locking it, she heads for her workstation to resume working and eat while she does. 

After waiting a moment so she does not seem too eager, Lucy walks over and picks up the lunchbox. She carries it over to the spot she was standing at and sits down cross-legged. Then she proceeds to unzip it and looks at what is inside. 

There are multiple sticks that have some sort of odd, brown food on each of them. Well, at least Lucy believes it is food. The clear plastic bottle is filled with a juice that appears to be super goopy. Finally, there is a wheat bread sandwich wrapped on plastic. She believes the sandwich seems safe enough, but she is not entirely sure about the other two items. 

Just as Lucy is reaching for the sandwich, she hatches an idea. One that she hopes will dupe Daphne. She recognizes that the green leafy vegetable used is not lettuce. She can use that as an advantage. So she grabs the sandwich and unwraps it before taking her first bite. It tastes like a turkey sandwich with a little spin to it. 

After more bites, Lucy scratches the left side of her neck. Then she gets the other side. She tries being subtle about scratching so hard since she needs her skin to turn red from irritation. “Uh, Daphne?”

However, Daphne completely ignores Lucy as she types away on her computer. She only spares a glance at a monitor that has a live feed of the confinement room that Lucy is inside of. 

So Lucy keeps on itching before she starts coughing, too. Then she makes her coughing worse.

“If you need a drink, use the juice!” Daphne snaps, sounding irritated that her work is being interrupted.

“Wh-what did you put in this?” Lucy chokes out. It sounds like she might cough up a lung. Or maybe two.

“Turkey, Cheddar cheese, watercress–”

“I’m allergic”-she wheezes, dropping the sandwich onto the floor-“to watercress!” 

Daphne goes into full panic mode, jumping out of her seat and racing over to the window to observe Lucy’s state with her own two eyes. “I never read that about you!” 

“I need”-she goes into a coughing fit-“help!” 

“I don’t know if I have any epinephrine around! I’m an inventor, not a doctor!” 

Lucy keels over, keeping up a mix of wheezing and heavy breathing. She can only hope that her plan will work. 

“Oh, no, no no!” Daphne races to unlock the door to Lucy’s room and rushes inside. “You can’t die on me! I need you!” 

Lucy remembers the self defense methods that Capricorn taught her. She has recently brushed up on them ever since the first batch of photos surfaced. It helped distract her from thinking about the current situation. So Lucy acts now that Daphne is close enough to her. 

With Daphne kneeling on her right side, Lucy grabs her top to bring Daphne closer to her. At the same time, she brings up her right knee and knocks it into Daphne’s head. That is to disorient her. While Daphne is in a dazed state, Lucy quickly sits up and elbows her in the stomach to knock the wind out of her. For a final touch, Lucy uses her entire body to get Daphne into a lock as she applies pressure to her windpipe so she slowly loses consciousness. 

“Y-you tricked”- she gasps for air-“me!”

Acting more like Natsu than a lady, Lucy lets out a big, “Duh!” 

Daphne looks as though she might combust. She is trying her best to wiggle away, but no such luck. Not much later, her struggle stops when body comes to a still.

Lucy holds her pose a bit longer before loosening her grip and tossing Daphne to the side. She checks for a pulse and finds it. Then she quickly jumps to her feet and backs away just in case Daphne is faking and is about to strike. 

Daphne does not even twitch. 

Seizing the opportunity, Lucy makes a break for the wide open door. She rushes outside the confinement room, swings the heavy door shut behind her, and locks it. Turning her back to the door, she looks around the lab for an exit. There are no signs by the doorways so guessing will be her best bet of finding a way out. 

Lucy wastes no precious time looking for her cell phone. It can be retrieved later or a new one can replace it. She wants to put distance between herself and Daphne as quickly as possible. So after discovering two storage closets, Lucy finds a door that leads out into a hallway. She takes it at a running pace. 

She is still wearing sports bra, tight running pants to her calves, and running shoes. At least she is dressed for running. Lucy makes a sharp right and keeps going down the hall, finding it splits into a left and right. She goes left without looking right. 

There are three doors, all of which are locked. So Lucy turns around and goes straight before going left where the hallway leads. She spots a broken exit sign that is pointing her in the right direction. Hope swells inside of her. She has a better chance of escaping now more than ever! 

Lucy sees double doors open ahead. Before making contact with one of them, she puts her arms out to push against the metal bar. Rather than opening the door, she smacks into it. She takes a step back, fighting the rising panic inside of her, and tries pushing the other door. No such luck. Then she tries doing the opposite and pulls the metal bar. The door opens inwards, and she runs out once the gab is big enough.

From the lack of light and the here and there placed lit lamps, it is night time. Her eyes begin to adjust to the darkness. What hits Lucy the most is the smell of fish and water. She can think of a few places she might be that are not super far from her apartment. Not sticking around any longer, she picks up her pace and heads towards lit buildings that are blocks away. She will be able to get help that way.

Car lights rounding the corner cause Lucy to slow her pace into a jog. She does not want to draw unnecessary attention to herself. She needs to seem like a jogger out on a night run. 

But when the car goes under a street light, she notices that is a police vehicle. It is a wonderful sight to see! Lucky Lucy is back in the game! 

“Hey!” Lucy shouts, waving her arms around to get attention as she quickly approaches the vehicle. “Hey, I need help!” 

As if the driver spots her, the vehicle slows down, but still heads for Lucy. As she crosses the street and makes her way over to the driver’s side, the door opens up and the officer steps out. 

Lucy stops in her tracks, processing the familiar face that she is seeing. What are the odds of it being him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: I’m proud of Lucy getting herself out of her situation! She can rescue herself!! And I wonder if anyone can guess who the male officer is… 
> 
> A/N Part 2: I’m back from Matsuricon, and I had a blassst! It was fun to cosplay Blair from Soul Eater again! But I had a ton of fun with Lucy from Fairy Tail!! I’m excited to do another version of Lucy for Ohayocon that’ll happen in January! And that con will be my tenth one so I’m super excited :D


	38. Chapter 38

Back at Lucy’s apartment, Natsu is still there with other people. Gray has since joined them since Natsu called him not long after he learned the news about Lucy. Natsu had figured that he will want to know since he and Lucy kind of act like siblings. 

Capricorn and Jude are currently have a conversation about places Daphne might have Lucy. They do not have much to go off of. Using laptops to do research, Gemi and Mini are seeing if any new information about Lucy will pop up. No such luck as of now. Natsu is sprawled out on the floor, staring up at the ceiling while Gray is sitting against the nearby wall. 

No one knows why Daphne has yet to reach out to Jude for a ransom. It has been hours. No one can figure it out. And no one likes it at all. 

Natsu sighs deeply, wondering how Lucy is doing wherever she might be. 

Gray is trying to be positive for the both of them. “Lucy will be all right. She’s tough. Maybe she’ll get out of this mess herself. Who knows?”

“She’s more than tough,” Natsu comments. “She’s Luce.” After all, she is his Luce. 

Gray nods. “Exactly.” 

Even though he is trying to sound positive, the atmosphere starts getting to Natsu. The typing away of keys on the laptops. The low conversation Capricorn and Jude are having. It is becoming too much for him to handle. Like it is all suffocating him. Maybe he will open a window and stand by it for some late night fresh air–

From inside of Natsu’s pocket, his phone starts going off. Judging by the ringtone, it is Gajeel. “It’s Lug Nuts…” he groans, already reaching for his phone. 

“So answer it,” Gray says. 

When Natsu answers the call and holds his phone up to his ear, his friend is not the one on the other end of the line. “Hi, Natsu,” Lucy greets warmly.

Bolting into a sitting position, he opens his mouth to speak, but words do not come out. He is too stunned to utter a peep.

Gray notices the odd state Natsu is in. “Everything all right?” he asks.

“Natsu?” Lucy asks after a moment of silence. “Are you there?”

He starts nodding, but stops when he realizes that she cannot see him. “Y-yeah,” he chokes out. 

The others in the room start noticing Natsu, but they go back to what they had been doing before the small interruption. 

So what if Natsu is starting to tear up. He is hearing his girlfriend’s voice? He no longer has to think that she is in danger. All of his worry just dissipates. 

“Where are you?” Lucy asks. 

“Where am I? Where are _you ___? Why are you calling me from Lug Nut’s phone? Are you both okay?”

Now Gray is intrigued. He knows Natsu is definitely not speaking with Gajeel. “What’s going on?”

“Long story short, I escaped Daphne and ran into Gajeel while he was out patrolling,” Lucy replies. 

“Talk about right place, right time,” Natsu muses. 

“He’s already called for backup, but he let me use his phone to make a call.” 

“So why call me?” 

“I couldn’t remember my father’s or Capricorn’s number…” she admits lamely. 

“At least you have mine memorized.” Speaking of which, he needs to memorize her number. He will have to do that sooner rather than later. 

“Oi, Natsu,” Gray says, raising his voice. “What’s going on?” 

“Is that Gray?” Lucy asks, having overheard his voice from her end.

“Don’t mind him,” Natsu answers. 

“Natsu!” she chides. 

“Natsu, who is that?” Capricorn asks. 

“It’s Luce,” he replies. Now that he thinks about it, he should have vocalized it sooner. “She’s okay.” 

Now Natsu really has everyone’s attention. 

“She escaped Daphne and ran into Lug Nuts while he was out patrolling,” he adds. “They’re waiting on backup, and she’s with him. She’s safe.” 

Jude might cry in relief. His daughter is all right.

Then Natsu scrambles to his feet. “Luce, where are you? I’ll come to you.” 

Gray stands up as well. “Me, too.” 

“I’m not entirely sure where I am,” Lucy admits. “Gajeel, where are we?” She is quiet for a moment. “By the docks near Lilac Way. Daphne has some kind of workshop lab here.” 

“The docks near Lilac Way. Got it.” He says that just so the others know. “I’ll be there soon.” 

“ _We'll ___be there soon,” Gray corrects, already fishing out his keys.

**x-X-x (POV change) x-X-x ******

Backup has since arrived. Daphne is handcuffed and sitting in the back of a cruiser, a brooding look on her face that her plans have been foiled. She is refusing to give out information on the people who are interested in bidding on Lucy. One way or another, the police are sure they will come up with a list of names from her computers.

Lucy is currently leaning against Gajeel’s hood, wearing a spare tee of his that is rather large on her body. She is more than eager to shower and crawl into bed to rest. She is ready for this twisted reality to be over. She wants to go back to normal. Well, her normal anyways.

“How you holdin’ up, Bunny Girl?” Gajeel asks as he approaches her. He just wants to check on her well-being since it has been a bit since she gave her statements. 

“I’m so ready to be done with this place,” she admits, and then she holds out Gajeel’s cell phone for him. “Thanks for letting me call Levy.” 

He pockets it for now. “I found out because Salamander called Shrimp. She then called me. Totally hysterical. It was hard to understand her at first.” 

“I can only imagine…”

Gajeel looks towards the building that she escaped from earlier. “Wanna leave this all behind, huh?”

She nods. “The sooner the better.” As if Lucy will have any good memories about what had happened to her. She can only hope that nightmares stay away from her. She does not need to relive what she experienced. Likewise, she does not want to either. 

With headlights approaching, more vehicles are pulling up to parked police vehicles that have their lights going. 

Lucy straightens up and takes a step away from the hood in anticipation. She does not even notice that she is holding her breath.

“Gihi, looks like your backup arrived,” Gajeel lightly jokes. 

Before one of the cars even stops and parks, the passenger’s front door is thrown open and someone races out. “Luce!” Natsu shouts. 

Her heart nearly leaps out of her chest. “Natsu!” She takes off for him, leaving a smiling Gajeel behind. 

He is running full speed right for her. “Luce!” 

Natsu makes it to Lucy first of the arriving bunch. Gray casually approaches the couple so they have time to be reunited. Capricorn and Jude are approaching police officers to be filled in on details. 

Lucy jumps and Natsu catches her. She wraps her legs around his waist for support while his arms wrap around her torso to help keep her in place. He starts showering her with kisses. “I love you,” he murmurs. “I love you. I love you so much.” 

Oh, she is definitely feeling the love from him. “I love you, too.” 

“I really _really ___love you.”

“I really love you, too.” 

“So much.”

“So very much.” 

Then he tucks his face into the side of her neck, taking a moment to hug her. He is holding her. She is back, safe and sound in his arms.

Muffled shouting sounds from inside of a car. The couple turns to look, only to find Daphne shaking the vehicle she is inside of from thrashing around. She is trash talking Jude and Lucy, but no one can really understand her. She is entirely bitter about her plans going up in smoke. 

“Oi, will somebody stop her?” Gajeel hollers. 

“On it!” a woman responds, walking over to where Daphne is being held. 

As much as Natsu wants to keep holding Lucy, he reluctantly puts her down since Gray is patiently waiting for his chance with Lucy.

The two of them hug, not making a big display like she and Natsu just did. When they finish their embrace, Natsu stands next to Lucy, their arms touching. 

“It’s good to have you back,” Gray comments. 

“Oh, it’s totally good to be back,” Lucy responds. 

“So what was up with Daphne?” Natsu asks. 

“Yeah, why was she talking her time with the ransom?” Gray adds. 

Lucy flinches. “Uh, she didn’t plan on doing that…” 

The two seem highly confused. “What?” Gray asks, just as Natsu says, “Huh?”

Lucy takes a deep breath, mentally preparing herself. It is creepy to think about it even now. “Long story short, she was going to sell me to the highest bidder for money.”

Natsu looks towards Daphne and flips her the bird even though she does not notice. He uses his other hand just for good measure. 

Gray resists the urge to join him. He does have a bit more class.

Lucy rolls her eyes. “You’re such a weirdo.” 

“She deserves it,” he simply responds. 

“She does,” Gray agrees, now wishing he did the thing with Natsu. 

“But you’re fine, right?” Natsu asks, switching the topic.

She nods in reply. “I just want to go home and go to bed.”

“That’s understandable,” Gray comments. 

“Luce, do you wanna check in with your pops and Goat Man before ditching this place?” Natsu asks. 

“That… sounds nice.” 

Gray holds up his keys, jingling them. “Let’s blow this popsicle stand then.”

**x-X-x ******

Lucy and Natsu are the only ones inside of her apartment. A sleepover is already planned and since Natsu keeps extra clothes at the place, he has pajama pants and a plain tee to wear. All because Lucy does not want to be alone, Natsu has volunteered to keep her company. Well into the night, in fact.

The couple is currently cuddling on her bed, facing one another. The light behind Natsu is on, providing light so they can see the other one. He is running a hand through her hair, keeping her in a calm state.

“Hey, Luce?” he says, breaking the peaceful silence between them.

“Yes?”

“What do you think about…?” But he does not finish his sentence. He is deciding if he will say what he wants to say. 

She opens her eyes to look at him. “Think about... ?” 

Natsu looks her in the eye for a moment. He is considering his words carefully. “What do you think about going on a vacation with me? Like, a mini one?”

She had not expected him to go there at all. “Vacation?” Then she starts smiling. “Sure. Let’s do it.”

He grins. “Great. That’s great.” 

“Where do you have in mind?” 

“Doesn’t matter. As long as it’s the two of us.” 

“I like the sound of that.” After all, it is more fun when they are together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: Not gonna lie, I do enjoy adding in little easter eggs about other works I’ve done XD Sometimes they fit in perfectly well! I originally was gonna have Igneel as the officer, but decided not to since he’ll be one in Ink & Icing. So I went with Gajeel XD
> 
> A/N Part 2: The next arc (idk how many chapters it’ll be) will happen before the arc where the Dragneel family goes to Paris (I’m excited for that one)! In the meantime, prepare for fluff :D I’m eager to get back to that. Why I ended this chapter with a sweet scene. 
> 
> A/N Part 3: So the first chapter to a 5-chapter work is now up! It’s not Ink & Icing, but it’ll still features NaLu. It takes place in the Fairy Tail universe (not an au like I typically do). I wrote it all in 4 days, and I'll hella pumped for it! Oh, and it’s called I Promise You.


	39. Chapter 39

On Monday morning, Natsu is still keeping a tight lip about the plans he has for them. For Lucy, packing has not been too difficult since he informed her on what to pack. Summer clothes ranging from casual to a little dressy, swimwear, and pajamas. She can also pack whatever personal items she wants to bring along. 

However, Natsu is now revoking that last rule…

“Natsuuu,” Lucy whines, putting on her best puppy dog face. “Pleaseee?”

“The point of any vacation is to take a break,” he points out. “That includes work.”

She clutches her packed away laptop to her chest. “But I enjoy my work so much that it isn’t even work.”

He gives her a dubious look. 

“I’m serious.” 

He merely crosses his arms across his chest.

“It doesn’t count.” 

He arches an eyebrow at her. 

Lucy finally puts her foot down. “I’m taking it.” 

“ _If ___you take it, then I getta monitor your use of it.”

“If?” she scoffs. “I’m totally taking it. And you can’t stop me.” 

“Wanna bet?” Natsu challenges. 

She takes a step back. “I’m taking it.” 

He approaches her, not saying a word. Feeling like some predator, he is cornering some pretty cute as fuck prey… 

Soon enough, Lucy backs into a wall. She keeps a tight grip on her laptop. 

Natsu is now standing in front of her, knowing he has a secret weapon to make her weak. 

“I promise that I’ll–” she starts.

His lips are on hers, causing her to lose her train of thought. She falls for him, eyes fluttering shut. He steps closer to his girlfriend, angling his head so they can kiss better. Their lips work together, Natsu using to use his tongue to run along her lower lip–

Then he walks away abruptly, taking her laptop with him. “Glad we had that chat.” 

After looking down at her empty hands, she glares at the back of his head. “Hey!” 

“Better luck next time!” 

She harrumphs before she silently fumes, already planning on bringing a notebook and different colored pens. The three different colors that she uses help her writing process in the long run. She fills up entire pages as well, not wasting any space. It might look confusing to others, but it makes perfect sense to Lucy. 

“Hurry up so we can get going!” The excitement is hard to miss in Natsu’s voice. “The sooner we leave here, the sooner we get there.” 

“Where is _there ___?”

He glances over his shoulder to wink at her. “You’ll see when we get there.”

**x-X-x ******

“Aww, c’mon, Luce,” Natsu comments from the driver’s seat. “Still not talking to me?”

She has yet to say a word to him since they left her apartment close to fifteen minutes ago. She is still highly bitter about him not letting her bring her laptop. Lucy has thought about asking him where their location is. She is curious how long the ride will be. But, true to her stubborn nature, she keeps her mouth shut. 

“You can only stare out the window for so long…” Natsu teases, wanting to get a reaction from her. 

She merely harrumphs. 

Well, that is not the reaction he wants. 

Natsu has a playlist full of songs that he and Lucy enjoy playing from his phone that is hooked up to the AUX cord. When a song she enjoys starts playing, he turns up the volume a bit and sings along.

_You’re the light, you’re the night ___

_You’re the color of my blood ___

_You’re the cure, you’re the pain ___

_You’re the only thing I wanna touch ___

_Never knew that it could mean so much, so much ___

Lucy loves this song even though she has never seen the movie it is from. She is happy to hear it again. It is slowly but surely buttering her up to Natsu because the song is playing and he is singing along.

Using the window’s reflection to see, she uses her left hand to grab her boyfriend’s right hand that is resting on his lap. With a smile, Natsu flips his hand over so they can intertwine their fingers together. He keeps singing along. By the time the second chorus is playing, Lucy is singing along as well. 

“I love you, Luce,” Natsu says as the song ends and another one begins. 

She gives his hand a gentle squeeze. “I love you, too.” 

“Oh, yeah?” he playfully challenges. 

“Yeah.” 

“Well, I love you with the power of a thousand suns exploding into a supernova of kittens and rainbows.” 

Lucy laughs. “Oh, yeah?” 

“Definitely.”

**x-X-x ******

The car ride is just over two hours long. At some point, Lucy simply resting her eyes turned into a nap.

“Hey, Luce,” Natsu says, nudging her awake. “We’re here.” 

“Wanna sleep,” she mumbles. 

“You can sleep in the room.” 

She opens her eyes and blinks to help wake herself up. Then her eyes land on the huge building in front of them. 

Grand Wolf Resorts is the world’s largest chain of indoor water parks and is family friendly. Lucy has seen commercials on TV and has had heard about the place on the radio, but she has never been here before. This location is also next door to a large amusement park and outdoor water park combination, Kings Isle. 

Lucy looks over at Natsu. “Really?” 

“I figured the hotel and park offer things we both like. Seems like a good balance for us.” He does not mention what else he has planned for them. They will leave Thursday morning so they have plenty of time for things. 

“Forget about sleeping, I want to do something.” 

“I planned on Wolf today and Kings tomorrow if you’re okay with that.” 

“I’m okay with whatever you have planned for us.” Then Lucy leans over to smooch Natsu’s lips. “So let’s get started!” 

Checking in is easy enough. Lucy looks around at everything while the duo heads for their room. Natsu lets her go first so she can see the room in person first. He already knows it looks like because of the pictures online. 

The main area is spacious and features different things. There is a gas fireplace in a corner which they will probably use because of Natsu. A whirlpool tub is next to the king-size bed. A sliding door at the opposite end of the room leads out to a patio with seating. A sofa, more tables, and other amenities are also in view as well. The theme of it, much like the rest of the building, is very outdoorsy with wooden features. 

“This seems like a lot for just two people,” Lucy comments, taking in everything still. 

Natsu closes the door behind them. “It said online it can do four, but I wasn’t gonna invite two others along. This is all just for us.” 

She walks further into the room and leaves her rolling suitcase by the end of the bed. Excitement is growing in her. She will be able to spend quality time with her boyfriend. Correction: Her fantastic boyfriend who planned all of this for just them. Lucy turns to face him, a smile on her face. “Thank you.” 

“Hey, don’t thank me yet. We haven’t done much.” 

“What’s on the agenda for today then?” 

“For now, swimming here. I’ll change in the bathroom so you can change out here, ’kay?” 

She merely nods. “All right.” Then she lifts her suitcase onto the bed and gets to work on taking out her bikini. 

Natsu packed his trunks in the front pocket of his suitcase for easy access. He is already in the bathroom by the time Lucy gets to her bikini. 

When she is ready, Lucy admires her figure in her new maroon bikini. The color has grown on her, and she thinks Natsu will like it. “All right, I’m ready.” 

He leaves the bathroom and comes to a stop when he sees Lucy. He looks her up and down, a grin on his face. “Hey, not bad–” His voice catches in his throat as he spots something on her body. His grin fades away. 

Lucy notices his reaction. “All you all right. What’s wrong?” 

He approaches her, his eyes not leaving the scar on her lower right abdomen. It is visible because of her bikini bottoms. Her previous pair that she wore at Natsu’s birthday party at least covered the scar then. “Is that from appendicitis?”

She is slightly surprised. “How do you know that?” 

“Wendy had it last summer. Was a scary time for everybody.” 

She is able to recall her case from a few years ago. “Isn’t it always?” 

“It was weird not having her at home for two days.” Then Natsu looks up at Lucy. “How long were you in the hospital?” 

“Six days. It should have been five, but the doctor couldn’t get to me to stitch me up until the next day.” 

Now it is his turn to be surprised. “Why so long?” 

“My appendix burst before surgery.” It happened in the span of her taking an MRI, her quickly being diagnosed, and going in for surgery.

He makes a face. “Ew.” 

She laughs. “Ew is right.” 

Then Natsu looks back down at her scar. “You know about my scars because you’ve seen me shirtless before. I didn’t know you’ve had that one.” 

“You’ve never seen me in a bikini before,” she points out. 

“True…” His eyes glance over the maroon clothing. “It’s a good look on you. Good color.” 

“I hear it’s a lot better when wet,” she teases. 

He finally looks up at her again. “Then let’s get going.” He remembers something. “Oh, you hafta wear a coverup while walking through the hotel. I’ll hafta wear a shirt.” 

“I’m pretty sure that that’s a rule everywhere with a pool.” 

“Hey, I didn’t ask for sass.” 

“You should have known you’d get sass from me going into this relationship.” 

He grins. “Nothing I can’t handle.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Somewhat filler, but there were some moments!! I’m looking forward to more :D PS. The song from the car ride is “Love Me Like You Do” by Ellie Goulding. It’s from Fifty Shades of Grey. Likewise, I never saw the movie (don’t plan on it), but I looove the song! PPS. Grand Wolf Resorts is for Great Wolf Resorts while Kings Isle is Kings Island. Cookies to those who puzzled that together :P


	40. Chapter 40

In the more than spacious indoor water park of the hotel, Lucy and Natsu have claimed a table as their own. The smell of chlorine is everywhere, and people seem to be having a lot of fun with what they are doing. The two tallest slides are tube-only rides while the remaining ones are body slides. The lazy river has people merrily floating with the flow in tubes while others are simply wading through. When it comes to the wave pool, there is not a tube in sight for safety reasons. The kiddie section holds no interest for Lucy at all, but Natsu is itching to try out the racing area with sturdy floaties anchored into the ground to hop across. Of course, there is much more! 

“Where should we start first?” Lucy asks as she kicks off her flip-flops. 

“Wherever you wanna go first,” Natsu replies, stripping off his plain white tee. 

Now it is Lucy’s turn to admire his body. He is only wearing his orange trunks that have black flames outlined in yellow along the bottom of the left leg. Of course, they are fire-related. And, of course, he makes them look good. 

The duo is also wearing white bands around their wrists with the hotel’s logo on them. Other guests have them as well to indicate they are staying and to give them access to the water park. 

“Well, the heated whirlpool does look nice…” Lucy comments, looking away from her boyfriend before he can catch her staring at him. 

“Yeah, but there’s one in our room,” he points out. “One we don’t hafta share with other people.” 

She does agree with his logic. “So what then?” 

They receive an answer when wolves start howling, indicating the wave pool will be starting up. 

Natsu’s eyes light up and he grabs Lucy’s right hand with his left hand. “C’mon, we’re going to the wave pool!” 

She smiles because he is smiling. “All right!” 

The water in the wave pool has a pleasant temperature to it. Two little kids chasing one another splash the couple as they race into the deeper water. The waves are already building up in the deeper end and washing onto the shore where some people are lying down. 

“Let’s go, Luce!” Natsu encourages, the water coming up to their waists now. 

“I’m coming,” she laughs, keeping up with him. He is acting like a child right now since he is eager to be where the bigger waves are. He just wants to have some fun. After all, things are always more fun when they are together. 

By now, the duo is in the deep end. Natsu does not have a trouble standing even with the waves, but Lucy has to really jump to keep herself above them. She does not mind doing it though since it is kind of fun. 

The wave pushes back the man in front of Lucy, and she lets go of Natsu’s hand so she can move back as well. She does not want to get hit by him, even if it is an accident. She still jumps to keep her head above the wave when it goes by. 

“Lucy!” an unfamiliar voice calls. 

Lucy looks over to where she heard the voice. Only now does she realize that she is probably not the only Lucy in the wave pool and someone was calling their friend, not her. When she looks back in front of her, the next wave is already inches away from her face. 

Going through the wave, she clamps her eyes shut and holds what breath she has as she is pushed back. She scrambles for the surface to breathe and get back to Natsu. Through blurry vision because of the water, Lucy spots a familiar shade of pink hair. She moves towards him and wraps her arms around his neck while her legs go around his waist. Something feels off, but that might be because she needs to catch her breath. 

“And hello to you, too,” a voice that does not belong to Natsu chuckles.

Lucy jerks her head up to make the unpleasant discovery that she is looking up at some stranger. His hair is dyed pink and is a bit shorter than how Natsu has his. 

The guy shoots her a grin. “Hey.” 

Her face heats up from embarrassment. She is clinging onto some guy that is not her boyfriend! “S-sorry!” she stutters. “I’m sorry!”

“Don’t be sorry. Not every day a beautiful girl washes into my arms.” Not being low enough to go over a line, the guy puts his arms around her and locks his fingers together behind her for support. He then jumps a little so the incoming wave does not hit Lucy in the face. “Are you okay though?” 

“Fine.” She is doing much better now that she has caught her breath. 

The guy is moving back so the waves can be less of a threat, but he is unknowingly moving away from Natsu. “That’s good,” he comments. 

“Luce!” Natsu calls out, looking around for her. He is looking for her blonde hair through the water in case she is underneath it as well as above it. “Luce!” 

She spots him first. “Natsu!” 

His eyes lock onto her and a look of relief washes over his face. But when he notices the guy she is with, his eyes narrow. Natsu wastes no time in making his way over to them, going around people in his way. 

“Oh, are you here with him?” the guy asks even though he is more than sure that she is. 

“He’s my boyfriend,” she replies to clarify their relationship. That way, he can know that she is taken and has no interest in looking for something else. 

Natsu holds his arms out to take Lucy. “Are you okay?” He sounds worried, but there is also something else in his voice. He is gearing up to be protective of her. 

She leans away from the guy to transfer herself over to Natsu, clinging onto him now. 

The guy looks at Natsu. “You better take better care of her before she’s snatched up by somebody else.” It is supposed to sound partly innocent, but a threat is clearly hidden in there. 

“Not gonna happen,” he growls, no longer enjoying being in the wave pool. He starts heading for the shore. 

Since she is facing him from her position, the guy waves a little at Lucy. 

She blatantly ignores him in order to focusing on her boyfriend instead. She pulls her head back to look at his face. “Natsu?” Lucy questions. 

“I’m bored here. We’re doing something else.” He clearly does not want to be around that guy anymore. 

“So what are we going to do now?” Lucy muses.

“Water slide?” 

“I’d like that.” 

Once the water reaches Natsu’s shins, he puts Lucy down so she can stand on her own. “Are you sure that you’re okay?” he asks. “What happened after you let go of my hand?” 

She nods. “Someone had called out my name so I looked around for them, but they meant another Lucy. Next thing I know, there was a wave right in front of me. I go under and when I surfaced, I couldn’t see all that well. I saw pink hair and naturally thought that it was you…” 

Natsu runs a hand through his own wet locks. “Yeah, I guess that’s a thing. His color is similar to mine, too.” 

She bumps her right shoulder into him. “But he’s no you.” 

He grins. “I doubt anybody could be me.” 

After their hands brush against the other, Lucy laces their fingers together. She gives him a reassuring squeeze. “Oh, trust me. That’s not possible.” 

Natsu leans over to smooch the side of her head. “I love you, Luce.” 

“I love you, too.”

**x-X-x ******

Lucy is currently relaxing on a chair while Natsu is getting them drinks. They have been doing water-related activities from slides to the lazy river nonstop so this break is well deserved. Although, this break could be even better with a good book. Oh, or even something for her to write with! 

“Hey, it’s you,” a voice says. 

Lucy looks over to see the guy from earlier. Whatever little relaxed smile she has disappears in an instant. 

“Luce, right?” 

“Lucy,” she corrects without hesitation. 

“Oh, I thought I heard your boyfriend call you Luce–”

“He’s the only one allowed to call me that,” she interrupts, not caring if she is being rude. Then she closes her eyes to show that she does not want to talk with him anymore. 

“You look familiar by the way,” the guy comments. 

She does not bother to peek an eye open. “I doubt it.”

“Really? Because I think you look like my next girlfriend.” 

Lucy shows no sign that she heard him. She can only hope that he will go away soon enough when he finally realizes that she has no interest in him. 

“Name’s Nathan by the way.” 

She yawns to show her disinterest about him. 

However, he is determined. “Do you think that we should swap numbers just in case–”

“No,” Natsu answers for her as he approaches the two, drinks in hand. 

Lucy opens her eyes and smiles at her boyfriend. “Natsu!” she says in an overly cheerful manner. 

He purposely squeezes past Nathan, barely brushing against him, in order to stand by Lucy. He bends at his waist, holding out her carbonated drink and smooching the top of her head. “A dragon always protects his princess.” 

“Uh, don’t you mean knight in shining armor?” Nathan asks. 

In order to be intimidating, Natsu glares at him. “No. Dragon.” 

“A vicious dragon that always protects his princess in her time of need,” Lucy adds before casually sipping her drink. 

Nathan stands his ground even though he appears slightly intimidated. “Is that so?” 

“And if you thought the dragon is bad when mad, you should see the princess,” Natsu comments, taking his seat right next to Lucy. “When the princess is pissed off it ain’t a pretty sight.” 

Nathan moves his gaze away from Natsu to look at Lucy. 

She smiles up at him, but there is something dark behind her smile. “He’s right.” 

Taking a step back, Nathan gulps. “Maybe we’ll talk again later.” Then he retreats, tail between his legs. 

Natsu cracks up once Nathan is out of range. “We mighta been a bit too mean, but so worth it!” 

Lucy holds out her cup. “Totally.” 

Natsu clinks their drinks together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: CHAPTER 40. THIS SUPPOSED TO BE ONE-SHOT CONTINUED BECAUSE Y’ALL WANTED MORE. WOO. Anyways, I wanna thank each of you for the attention CAF has received so far!! I still have more planned for it :D
> 
> A/N Part 2: For those who don’t know, I posted my first Gruvia work last week and it’s called Open Your Eyes. It’s comfort/good feels based, and inspired from FT’s Ch 499. I just posted a sequel called Open Your Heart which is rated M for certain smutty reasons. I told myself I’d make a second part if it reached a certain number of notes on Tumblr. It did. Open Your Heart isn’t Ink & Icing, but I considered it practice for writing it!


	41. Chapter 41

_Sblackw from FFnet pointed out that Lucy wore a bikini to Natsu’s bday party in Ch 29. Totally forgot about that. That’s what happens when I have so many works done. Sometimes they start blurring together… (I totally went back to Ch 39 to fix it, saying the bottoms from Ch 29 covered her scar then!) ___

The duo is now back inside of their hotel room, damp towels from swimming around them. 

“You can use the shower first,” Lucy offers, closing the door behind them. 

“Orrr we can use”-Natsu gestures dramatically to the whirlpool tub-“this!” He is more than eager to use it. Especially with his girlfriend. Although, he will have to control his childish urges to splash her… 

She folds her arms under her chest, jutting a hip out for extra sass emphasis. “And how do you propose we go about using it together?” He has yet to see her naked and she plans on keeping it that way for now. 

“Well, one of us gets in and then the other,” he jokes just to tease her. 

She puffs her cheeks out. She is more than sure that he knows what he is referring to. 

“Oh, relax, Luce. We both can keep our swim suits on. No worries, see?” By keeping on what they are wearing now the whirlpool, he is keeping what she wants in mind. An idea comes to mind, and he knows just how to toy with her. “Well, unless you want us wearing our birthday suits…”

Pink tints her cheeks. “A-as if!”

He cackles. “I’m kidding. You know that.”

Now that she thinks about it, she cannot believe that she did not think of his idea before. “Wow,” she muses to herself out loud. 

Natsu’s mood deflates a little. “Well, if you really don’t wanna use the tub at all–”

Lucy shakes her head. “No, not that. I’m surprise I didn’t think of keeping our suits on myself.” 

Grinning, he taps the side of his head with a single finger. “Leave the creative ideas to me.” 

She playfully rolls her eyes. “Surrre.”

“Everything else can be up to you.” 

She laughs. “Sounds like a plan.” 

So Natsu steps over to the tub and plays around with the knobs. A hot soak will do them good. 

“I’ll get fresh towels and soap.” Then Lucy walks into the bathroom to get what they will need. Going back into the main room, she sets the items down on the tile encasing the tub. 

With hands on hips, Natsu steps back to watch the tub slowly but surely fill up with water. “Huh. I guess this shoulda been started sooner. It’s gonna take some time for it to fill up.” 

“I’m sure that we can find something to do to kill time,” Lucy assures him. 

He waggles his eyebrows at her. “Got any fun ideas?” 

She playfully shoves him. “I could leave you here and go to Kings Isle next door…” Lucy threatens as a joke. 

“Hey, that’s the plan for tomorrow!” Then Natsu’s eyes grow wide. He just spoiled the plan for tomorrow. Whoops. Oh well. He cannot change the past. He just has to shake it off. 

She blinks in surprise. “Really?” 

“Stick with me, kid. I’ll take you places.” 

Lucy smiles. He is sweet. Beyond sweet. She is more than lucky to have him. “I love you.” 

He returns the smile and kisses her nose. “ _Je t’aime ___."

“You could just stick with English. You know, the language I know.” 

“True, but you know what that means.” 

“I only know a little bit, but not enough to get me by. Your family has been helping me, too.” 

Then Natsu smirks. “ _Je t’aime avec le pouvoir d’un millions de soleils qui explosent dans un supernova de chatons et d’arc-en-ciels ___."

She is able to pick pieces from what he just said. “Uh, you love. Suns. Supernova. Cats.” 

He cracks up. “Close enough.” 

“Wait, did you say that line to me in French? The one about the supernova of kittens and rainbows?” 

“So what if I did?” 

“You’re a weirdo,” she snorts. 

“Hey!” he protests. 

She cannot stop her laughter now. “You’re such a dork! The biggest dork that I know!” Then she gasps at a nickname for him. “You’re Dorkneel!” 

He holds a hand over his heart, feigning pain. “Ouch, that’s low. Like, really low, Luce.” 

“Natsu Dorkneel!” She thinks it is way funnier than it really is. In fact, her stomach hurts and she has little tears forming in her eyes.

“Ugh, you’re not gonna stop are you?” he groans dramatically, secretly finding it amusing that she finds it to be so hilarious. 

Lucy attempts to stifle her laughter. “S-sorry,” she wheezes. “It’s just really funny for some reason.” 

“Hmm, now I’ll hafta think of a nickname for you,” he muses. 

“Pfft, have fun making something outta Lucy Heartfilia. Although, you do call me Luce.” 

He waves a hand through the air to wave the thought away. “Luce is affectionate. Totally not the same as Dorkneel.” 

“Hey, I can make Dorkneel affectionate.” 

“I’d like to see you try,” he sasses. 

Oh, it is on now. “Challenge accepted.”

**x-X-x ******

By now, the tub is full of water and the jets are going. Music is playing from Lucy’s phone while she and Natsu are relaxing in the tub sitting side by side. She looks over at her boyfriend to say something, but stops when she sees him. 

With his head tipped back a little, his eyes closed. His face looks so peaceful. 

As Lucy makes her eyes past his face, a thought occurs to her. She starts giggling that turns into laughing. 

Natsu opens his eyes to look at her. “What’s so funny, Luce?” 

“It looks like you are naked,” she points out. “Just because you’re wearing trunks.” 

“Yeah, I guess you don’t look naked because of your top. Might as well take it off so we’re even.” 

“H-hey!” 

Now it is his turn to snicker. “Yeah, yeah. I know you won’t.” Then an idea to mess with Lucy pops into his mind, and he purposely sinks lower into the water. His arms flail around as though he is attempting to stay above the surface. 

Lucy holds her arms up to protect her face from splashing. “Hey!” 

“Help, I’m drowning! I need the kiss of life!” 

“You get that before, not after,” she points out. 

His splashing comes to a still. “Oh, right.” Then he takes a deep breath and slips underneath the bubbles. 

She merely waits for him to come back up. And waits some more. Lucy starts wondering just how long he can hold his breath. “Natsu?” 

He shows no sign that he heard her. Then again, he probably cannot.

Having had enough worry build up inside of her, Lucy reaches over to shake Natsu’s shoulder. “Hey, Natsu!”

With hair wetted down, only his head breaks the surface. “You’re a terrible life guard.”

“You could have just asked me for a kiss,” she chides, realizing that she got worked up for nothing.

“Pfft, where’s the fun in that?” Natsu asks, scooting closer to his girlfriend.

She harrumphs. “I don’t know if you deserve my kiss or not now…”

His eyes grow wide. “Luce!”

“I think you’ll have to work for it…”

Oh, it is definitely on now. “Challenge accepted.”

**x-X-x ******

Still wearing their swim wear, the duo is drying off with the towels Lucy had gotten for them earlier.

“You can change in the bathroom while I change out here,” Natsu says.

She nods as she towel dries her long hair. “All right.” It makes sense since he changed in the bathroom before. Now it is her turn.

“Change into comfy clothes because we’ll get dressed up for dinner later,” he instructs. “We’re gonna hafta wait for our hair to dry until then.”

She smiles. “Do you have a certain place in mind?”

He merely shrugs. “I’m sure something will come to mind.”

Lucy is not sure if he actually does have a spot in mind already or he if he is just planning to go with the flow of things. Then again, she still is not sure about the way he works with things, but it works for him.

After getting her needed clothes from her suitcase, Lucy goes into the bathroom to change. She hangs her bikini over the towel rack so it can dry. Then she puts on a pink cami and a pair of black running shorts. The look will do for now.

When Lucy leaves the bathroom, she discovers that Natsu is taking up one side of the bed, his back against the headboard. The other side, the one for her, has her laptop on it. The device is already plugged in and turned on, just waiting for her.

“My laptop!” She looks at Natsu, a smile on her face. “You brought it?”

“I did say that I get to monitor your use of it. So I figured now is a great time for it–”

He is interrupted when Lucy practically launches herself at him. Straddling his hips, she takes a hold of his face with both of her hands so she can kiss him. She makes it worth his while.

Natsu is left in an utter daze when Lucy moves off of him to sit down in front of her laptop. “L-Luce?” he stammers, finally finding his voice that seems at a higher pitch than normal.

She spares a glance his way. “Yes?”

His face is red and he is refusing to make eye contact with her. “You’re a good kisser…” 

She giggles. “You’re not so bad yourself, Dorkneel.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: More fluff and good feels for y’all! Mostly a filler chapter, but I wanted certain things to happen. NaLu teasing and Natsu being a good boyfriend with the laptop bit :P
> 
> A/N Part 2: Thank you again to MarSofTheGalaxies from FFnet for the French translations :D You're wonderful!


	42. Chapter 42

Before going out, Lucy is putting on the final touches to her makeup look. The rest of her is all ready to go. The dress she has on is strapless, being two different colors. The top half is a dark mint color while the creamy napkin skirt is textured with dots. Her hair is pulled back into a cute messy bun. 

“You almost ready to go?” Natsu whines from where he is sprawled across the bed. He has been ready and is still waiting for her. He is wearing a short sleeve, black button-up, grey jeans, and white shoes. He is going for more comfort than fashion in his look. 

Now finished, Lucy puts away her mascara and steps into view. “I’m all ready!” 

He quickly sits up and looks at her, smiling because of how great she looks. Then he tilts his head to one side, smiling fading away. “Wait, you’re all ready?”

“Yes. So now we can get going.” Although, she does have to grab her purse, but that does not count.

“Really? You don’t think you’re missing _anything ___… ?” As a hint, Natsu points down at her feet.

She looks down, discovering that she is not wearing any shoes. “Oh. Whoops.”

“I didn’t know bare feet was in this season,” Natsu chuckles in a teasing tone. 

“Hey, it’s still summer,” she points out, walking over to her suitcase to fetch shoes. She picks a pair of cute sandals to match her dress. 

“’Tis the season for bare feet,” Natsu says in a sing-song voice that is eerily similar to a popular Christmas song. 

She does not bother to look at him while she puts on her other shoe. “I’m not continuing that…”

So Natsu does it himself. “Fa la la la la, la la la la!”

She groans. “I can’t take you anywhere.”

“Uh, I’m pretty sure I’m the one taking you places this vacation,” he points out. 

He does have a point.

With purse over her right shoulder, Lucy is officially ready to go. “Waiting on you, Dorkneel.”

So Natsu hops off the bed, sticks the landing, and holds his arms above his head as he poses. 

“Ten out of ten… don’t do that again,” Lucy jokes. 

“You’re just jelly since you can’t do something amazing like that,” he huffs. 

“Jelly?” she snorts. 

“Yeah, jelly.” Natsu stands in front of her, a grin on his lips. “You look beautiful by the way.”

Pink tints her cheeks a little bit. “Th-thanks.”

“Did you just get flustered?”

“No,” Lucy denies all too quickly. 

“Aww, I still can get to you.”

“You always do…” she mumbles, avoiding eye contact. 

His smile softens. “You still get to me, Luce. Every day. Every time. Always.”

Butterflies. He still gives her butterflies. Sometimes even hurricanes of butterflies. “Well, we better get going before you get any sappier.” 

“Aye, sir!”

**x-X-x ******

Since Lucy and Natsu both want to try a new place, they are inside one of the restaurants the hotel has to offer. They are seated in a booth across from the other, waiting on their food to arrive. 

“How can you struggle with writing?” Natsu asks. “You’re an author. You’ve published things before. Three separate works!” 

Lucy starts talking about her process. “I’m struggling because I have to stick with an idea. Just one idea. You know me, I start one idea to get it out of my system. I build it up for a bit. Then I go to another story and work on it. I keep doing that for multiple stories.”

“So you never get just one done,” he reasons.

She nods. “Exactly.”

“Do you want me to help?” he offers. 

She blinks. “Huh?”

“I mean, I’m no writer, but maybe I can help you narrow down your works.”

She smiles at this thoughtfulness. 

“So what stories are you struggling with?”

“ _Two Idiots and a Blonde ___is nonfiction and modern times. Amanda is the main character, and she lives with Brantley and Corwin in a house. The trio, mostly the guys, makes vines, but Amanda is in them. They all have separate jobs, too. It’ll mostly follow their lives and how they all get along.”

“Uh, what genre would that be? Angst?”

“I doubt that I could ever do a good, pure angst… But that work will be humor and normal things in general. And some romance, but things happen naturally. Not forced.”

“What else you got?”

“I’m calling it _Cam ___for now unless I come up with something better. It’s entirely fiction with some other world where these demons, but not demon demons, exist. I want to create creatures just for it that are maybe based on negative things. Like, as long as evils in the world exist, they exist. So certain trained humans, think of military, have to fight against them when the not-demons break out of their realm.”

“Sounds action based.” 

“Cam is the main character and she’s a Tainard. Now, she’s not the only Tainard in existence, but she’s different because of–”

“Tainard?” Natsu interrupts, not meaning to be rude. He is lost and unfamiliar with that term. 

“It’s a combination of tainted and bastard. Humans came up with the term, and Tainards are humans that have been infected by the not-demons. By their blood. The not-demons like causing trouble and it can cause trouble for some humans.”

“This has a totally different vibe from the other work you mentioned with the idiots and blonde…”

“I still like both of those ideas. Oh, and _Asher ___is different from those two. And like _Cam ___, I’m calling it _Asher ___for now.”

“Lemme guess, Asher is the main character.” 

Lucy nods. “Magic will be involved, but I’m debating if it’ll be, like, this world, but magic is a secret. Well, it’s not a secret to those who can use it. Anyways, Asher can use magic, but hers has a twist. She’s mute and can’t cast spells, but she has a trick up her sleeve. Er, sleeves. She has tattoos along her arms of different things, from animals to objects to elements. She can bring them to life by focusing. On the other hand, her younger twin, Jesse, and can’t use any magic.” 

“So what are their lives about?”

“I want there to be some magic syndicate that has records of Asher because of her peculiar magic. It falls into the wrong hands, and the group of bad guys now wants Asher. They want to use her in order to accomplish their goals. Maybe it’s world domination. I don’t know. But they want her because she can create anything.” She thinks about the twins. “There are some secrets along the way, but I don’t want to spoil anything now.”

“So that’ll be some action and adventure I’m guessing.”

“Probably. Jesse has a boyfriend, but I don’t know if Asher will have a love interest. Not everyone needs a love interest to be happy, you know?”

Natsu is completely blown away. Well, he is always in awe by Lucy. She can come up with universes in her head and bring them to life through her writings. That has to be magic in and of itself. And he knows that she is sharing a part of herself each time that she talks about her works in progress. “You’re amazing. I really hope you know that.”

She blushes a little. “I try…” 

“I hope our kids take after you and your creativity,” he comments, and then winks. “And looks.”

“N-Natsu!” 

He reaches across the table to take her left hand with his right. “Hey, I can’t help it. I just love you so much. Sooo much.”

She smiles. “I love you, too.”

Their waiter swings by their table with plates in hand and distributes them to their rightful owner. “I’ll be back to check on you two in a bit.”

Natsu is already digging in, so Lucy acknowledges the waiter. “Thank you.”

With a quick nod, he walks away to tend to other tables. 

“Oh, were there any other works you were thinking about?” Natsu asks after he swallows his bite. He got distracted by food and did not mean to lose focus on the matter at hand. 

Lucy thinks for a moment. “Those are the big three for now. There are other works, but they aren’t in my top faves.”

“Going off of whatcha said, I think _Cam ___is more up my alley. But that’s just me. You hafta think about the audience you wanna go after.”

“That’s always a thing to consider.”

“I think the _Two Idiots and a Blonde ___might appeal to more people compared to the other two.”

She nods. “I think that, too.”

Natsu points his fork that has spaghetti twirled around it at her. “But the choice is up to you.”

“I’m sure one of them will jump out at me. In the meantime, I guess I can keep working on all three until one sticks out more than the others.”

“You can do it, Luce. I believe in you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter was closing in on 2k words so I decided to break it up. The rest will be in the next chapter :P The three works Lucy talked about our mine (some of y’all might know about the first one mentioned). And I had that moment with my fiancé: Talking about my different works, figuring which one to work with, and he’s just staring at me. He wishes that he could be creative like me. Likewise, I wish I could do math as well as him XD


	43. Chapter 43

With full bellies, Lucy and Natsu are walking hand in hand back up to their room. They are still on the first level and have yet to reach an elevator to ride up to their floor. 

“Can we take a nap when we’re up in our room?” Natsu asks. 

“Is a food coma setting in already?” Lucy teases. 

“Hey, you’re lucky I’m still walking. You might have to carry me soon.”

“Piggyback or princess style?” 

“Whatever works best for you.”

“Maybe it’ll be best if I just drag you around then…” Lucy pushes the button for the elevator, and the duo waits. When it dings and the door slides open, they see a familiar face. 

This is just like when Lucy is at the mall and notices a particular person or a group. Throughout her time at the mall, she always sees them. They are either in the same shop as her or just passing by on opposite ends. It is an uncanny ability she has. 

Stepping out of the elevator, Nathan waggles his eyebrows at Lucy. “I do like the bikini look, but you still look beautiful.”

She does not make a comment back while Natsu shoots him a look. “She’s beautiful all of the time,” he remarks. “No matter what.”

An idea coming to mind, Lucy rolls with it. She wraps both of her arms around one of Natsu’s, making sure to press her body against him. “Can we go to our room now? I want to be alone with you. So we can sleep together…” She does mean to just nap, but she is trying to be suggestive on purpose.

Of course, Natsu catches on to what she means. “The sooner the better.” When he leads the way into the elevator, he intentionally knocks shoulders with Nathan. When the couple turns to face the doors, Natsu sticks his tongue out at Nathan right before they shut. 

“Just how old are you?” Lucy chuckles, loosening her grip on her boyfriend. 

“Old enough to sleep with you apparently.” 

“H-hey!” How dare he use her words against her?

“And by sleep with, I mean nap with.” 

“Maybe I’ll nap on the bed and you can take the floor…” she threatens. 

“Might as well sleep in the tub at that rate,” Natsu jokes, and then grows a bit serious. “But you’d probably join me from getting lonely.” 

“Probably,” she admits. Lucy does enjoy having Natsu by her side when they nap together. And not just because he is her personal furnace. He is a great cuddle buddy. 

Natsu leans over to smooch Luce’s head. “You know that I love you.”

“Oh, trust me. I know.”

“Hey, don’t make it seem like a bad thing.”

She looks over at him. “It isn’t. It’s a great thing.”

After a quick walk to their room, Natsu kicks off his shoes and faceplants onto his half of the bed. His food coma is coming on strong now. 

“Do we have plans for the rest of the evening?” Lucy asks, slipping off her shoes. 

“I kinda just really wanna, _like really wanna ___, be lazy the rest of the day and chill here,” he admits.

“So you won’t care if I get into my pajamas now?” 

“Go for it.”

She observes him for a moment. “You should, too.” 

“I’m too lazy to move now. I wanna nap first.”

“You’re going to wrinkle your clothes.”

“Oh, well!”

Lucy gives up on trying to reason with him and grabs her pajamas out of her suitcase. “I’m going into the bathroom to change.” 

“So barge in without knocking when you least expect it, got it,” he sasses. 

She playfully rolls his eyes even though Natsu does not see. “Do _that ___and you’ll get a Lucy Kick,” she warns.

After changing and removing her makeup, Lucy exits the bathroom. She discovers that Natsu, now lying on his back, is wearing athletic shorts and a plain tee. So he did change after all. 

“Are you gonna nap, too?” Natsu asks when he hears her footsteps. He keeps his eyes closed since there is no need to open them. 

“I’m not tired right now.”

“Speaking of right, are you gonna write?” He silently pats himself on the back for his pun. 

“Oh, I’m always up for writing.”

“Then go for it.” 

“Really?” She did not think that she could have another chance to be on her laptop so soon.

“Yeah, I’m gonna be napping anyways. We should both do what we wanna do.”

A few minutes later, Lucy is sitting in front of her laptop while mulling things over. “Hey, Natsu?” she asks suddenly, pausing a moment from using the keyboard.

He keeps his eyes shut. “Yeah?”

“When it comes to Brantley from _Two Idiots and a Blonde ___, what second language should he speak?” She wants him to fluently speak another one in order to surprise Amanda and Corwin; the two people who will least expect it.

“ _Français ___,” he replies with a grin.

She types it down, knowing why he said French. At least if she has any future questions dealing with French translations, she can ask Natsu about them. 

This is a normal thing for them. Sometimes she asks him questions without giving any back story to see what he thinks or if she is stuck. She does give information if he asks, but he rarely does. Between the two, Lucy is thankful for his help while Natsu is secretly touched. She talks as though the people and places she creates are real just like her and Natsu. They are real to her. And they exist all because of her.

“You said that’s the story with some romance, right?” Natsu asks.

Lucy nods. When she remembers that he is not looking at her, she vocally replies. “Yes.”

“So who’s got the romance?”

“Well, for starters, the fans of the three ship them all around.” And yes, she has the different official ship names written down in a document all about the trio. “The two popular ones are Amanda with each of the guys. Brantley and Corwin is a ship, too.”

“So which one is your ship?”

Lucy pictures the two in her mind, smiling a little. “Amanda and Brantley.”

“Brantanda,” he jokes.

“Amantley,” she corrects, booping his nose lightly with a finger.

Natsu jumps at the unexpected touch before relaxing. “Looks like you have that planned out,” he comments.

“For the most part.” Some things still need pieced together, but there is time for that.

“So who crushed on who first?”

“I planned on Amanda liking Brantley first, but the more I think about it, I like him crushing on her first.”

“That’ll be opposite with what happened with us.” 

“What are you talking about?” 

“You don’t remember?” 

She is slightly confused. “I don’t know what you mean.” 

“The review you left.”

“Hey, I never thought I’d see you again after that.”

“But you made the first move.”

“I just admitted that I found you attractive. I never said that I had a crush on you.”

“You might as well have.”

“If I made the first move, then you initiated things by texting me.” 

Lucy does have Natsu there. He cannot possibly argue that. 

“Plus, you asked if I wanted to see you the next day.” 

“But you mentioned we should get food.” 

“I threw that out there as a suggestion since you suggested hanging out in the first place.” 

A pouting look comes across Natsu’s face. “Quit one upping me.” 

“It’s true!” she laughs. 

Natsu thinks for a moment, face fixed in concentration. He needs to take the lead now. “Hey, but you called it a date! You were the one who totally called it a date first!” He even has the locked text message to prove it. 

Oh, it is a competition now. It is so on. 

“You admitting your feelings first when you brought me pizza,” Lucy brings up. 

“And then my old man interrupted us right before we kissed,” he groans, recalling that moment. “Totally killed the mood we had going before.”

“But we still kissed.”

Natsu reaches for her with a hand, fingers grazing against her thigh. “Yeah, we did…”

Now Lucy is just in the mood for reminiscing over fond memories. “And the next day, you asked me to be your girlfriend. In the romance section of the bookstore.”

“After we ditched Ice Princess and Juvia,” he adds with a snicker.

“That was your idea.” Lucy puts her hand over Natsu’s hand that is on her. “Totally your idea.”

“And you went with it.”

Using her free hand, Lucy sets her laptop onto the nightstand by her before getting comfortable. She lies down and rolls onto her side so her back is towards her boyfriend. 

Wasting no time, Natsu immediately scoots over to spoon her from behind. He loves snuggle sessions with Lucy. She is his designated cuddle buddy. His arms go around her, bringing them even closer together. “What happened to writing?” he murmurs. 

“Eh, I can do it in a bit,” she replies. “I need to recharge first.” 

“Recharge?” he snorts. 

She grabs one of his hands to bring it to her mouth for a little kiss. “I have to get all charged up with love before writing.” 

“What about being fired up?” he jokes. 

“That’s your thing.” 

“You bet your cute ass it is.” 

She giggles. “You think it’s cute?”

“Just like the rest of you.”

“Well, you’re not so bad yourself,” she teases.

“Luce, I’m the best you’ve ever had.”

There is no denying that since it is totally true. “You are the only one who I went on more dates with.”

“I think the pink hair did it for you. You know, since it’s a favorite color of yours and all.”

“If it was pink and blue then you’d be all set.”

“I’d have cotton candy hair then.”

Lucy pictures him with pastel pinks and blues in his hair, laughing. “Now _that'd ___be a sight to see!”

“Ain’t gonna happen.”

“It could happen.”

“Never.”

“Maybe.”

Natsu uses a hand to tickle her side. “Never ever.”

As her laughter fills the air, she starts wiggling to escape even though he has a good hold of her. “S-stop it!” Lucy kicks her legs around, not caring if she accidentally hurts him or not.

“So the magic word,” he says.

“P-please!” she sputters, red faced. 

“Nope, not the magic word!” He continues his tickle attack along her side, traveling to her stomach.

“I’m going to pee if you don’t stop!” she warns. 

So he finally lets up to give her a break. 

Lucy is practically wheezing for air. “That”-she inhales-“was mean.”

“It was funny.”

“Mean.” She goes back to normal even though her stomach still feels the aftereffects of being tickled. “You’re lucky that I love you…” she chides.

Natsu smooches her cheek, cuddling closer to her if it is possible. “I’m incredibly lucky that you love me,” he says in an endearing tone. “I think about that every day.”

Pink tints Lucy’s cheeks. “You’re so sappy.”

“I prefer the term cheesy. Like the kinda stuff you like on your pizza.”

“Among other toppings.”

“True.”

She giggles. “You’re such a weirdo.”

“Hey, I’m not the only one in this relationship.”

“Maybe that’s why we get along so well,” she muses. 

Natsu yawns. “Whelp, it’s officially naptime for me.”

“Me, too.”

“Sleep tight, Luce. Don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: I’ll admit it, this chapter was for fluff. Because fluff is good, and I personally needed a good dose of fluff and happiness. After owning a brand new phone (that had all of my photos/memories on it) for not even 48 hours, it was stolen from me… That really brought me down. But writing this did help a bit! Anyways, next chapter will probs cue to the next day.
> 
> A/N Part 2: So two Mondays from now (the 17th), I’m having surgery to remove all four, impacted wisdom teeth... I dunno if I’ll have time to update the day before, and I don’t plan on rushing myself. If it happens that Sunday, it’ll happen that Sunday. If not, well, the update will happen when it happens XD But at least there will be another update until then! I just wanted to give y’all a heads up!


	44. Chapter 44

With all the walking Lucy and Natsu will do at Kings Isle, they reason that walking over to the amusement park from the hotel is easy enough. There is a little walking path that leads right over to it. Besides, they will not have to worry about parking. 

“And you remembered your medicine, right?” Lucy asks for the second time. The first time was inside of the hotel room before they left.

Troia tablets that help with Natsu’s severe motion sickness. He even has to take them when he plans on driving. And since he plans on riding rides, he knows that he will need them.

“Yeah, Luce.” Then he pats a pocket of his. “Got ’em right here.”

“I’m just making sure,” she says. “I want you to enjoy your time at Kings Island.” 

With a small grin, Natsu takes a hand of hers and laces their fingers together. “I’ll enjoy my time anywhere just as long as you’re there with me.”

She smiles. “After all, it’s more fun when we’re together.”

“Exactly!” Then he smooches the side of her head. 

The couple already has the day planned out at Kings Isle. Half of their time will be spent in the amusement park while the other half will be spent in the water park. The mini bookbag that Lucy has on has their swimwear, sunscreen, and a towel. They are both ready for a day of fun under the sun!

After presenting their tickets at the main gate, Lucy and Natsu enter the part that has gift shops and some places to eat. The fountains down the middle are a sight to see. This is Lucy’s first time being here, so she is making sure to take everything in.

“So whatcha wanna do first?” Natsu asks, looking down at the folded out map in his hands.

She looks over the map as well before looking up at her boyfriend. “Let’s do the rides that you like.” She trusts his judgment. For the most part.

He grins. “Stick with me and you’ll have a blast here!”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Natsu folds up the map, slips it into his pocket, and leads the way. Lucy matches his stride all while looking around at the different buildings. She does not notice that she is slowly but surely straying. So Natsu moves closer to her so she is by his side.

After a bit, Natsu finally reaches out to take a hold of her hand. “You keep walking away from me bit by bit,” he chuckles, and gives her hand a squeeze. “So this’ll make sure you can’t escape.”

Pink tints her cheeks. “Sorry…”

“You’re fine. I know you’re looking. But honestly”-he smirks-“I’m the best view here.”

Lucy cracks up. “Oh, as if!”

“You’re right. It’s you.”

“You’re a weirdo.”

“But I’m your weirdo and that’s what matters.”

Now it is her turn to squeeze his hand. “Definitely.” Then Lucy grows a little excited. “So which ride are we doing first?”

“We’re gonna do one that’ll be a good start for you. You know, since you haven’t been on a roller coaster before.”

“You thought that part through.”

“Of course, I did. You’re involved.”

“Because if it was your first time, you would have gone with the tallest and fastest coaster here,” she muses.

Natsu awkwardly laughs. “S-sure, I would.”

His tone does not slip past her. “You did that, didn’t you?”

“You can’t prove it.”

A smug look comes across her face. “I don’t need to. I know you.”

“A little all too well,” he teases. 

She lightly bumps shoulders with him. “And then some.”

**x-X-x ******

When it comes to the line for the first ride, the wait is not bad at all. At least now they are under a shaded part to be out of the sun, a mister fan just up ahead to cool of the crowd in line.

“And this one doesn’t have any loops, right?” Lucy asks again. She cannot see a part of the track due to trees. 

“Not a single one,” he assures her yet again.

Natsu is trying his hardest to give Lucy all of his attention, but a trio of boys behind the couple is a slight distraction for him. They are speaking low enough so Lucy does not pick up on any of it, but Natsu tuned in the moment he heard them talking about a cute blonde ahead of them. They think that Lucy and Natsu are just friends on a simple outing because they are not sucking face like another couple in line. The trio is admiring her _ass ___ets, and one of them wants to ask her for her number.

Wanting to put an end to things, Natsu slides in behind Lucy, wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her against him. Is his ulterior motive to hide her butt so the guys behind them stop talking about it? Most definitely. Is he pleased that they now know she most definitely is taken? Absolutely.

As extra emphasis, Natsu rubs the side of his head with hers. “I love you.”

She giggles at his display of affection. “I love you, too.”

Pretending to stretch his neck, Natsu looks back at the trio and sends a glare there way. Then he mouths “mine” to them.

They all stiffen up and look anywhere else except where the couple is.

Finally satisfied, Natsu is able to give Lucy his full attention. “So are you ready?” he asks.

“I’m feeling nervous.”

“Oh, you’ll be fine.”

“I hope so.” 

He decides to mess with her for a bit. “It’s not like your seatbelt will come undone and you’ll fly outta your seat…”

Lucy stiffens up at the very idea of that actually happening. “That isn’t funny,” she scolds.

He chuckles. “It’s okay. I won’t letcha fall.”

“I won’t be falling in the first place,” she huffs. “Or flying.”

“You’ll be sitting pretty,” Natsu teases. 

“Exactly.”

“While screaming.”

“Probably.”

Minutes later, Lucy and Natsu are sitting side by side in a cart. Since they have the blue roller coaster, Lucy’s bag is inside of the blue bin that holds other items from the passengers. She is getting a major case of the butterflies now, and not because of Natsu. “Are you sure this will be fine?” she asks. 

“Wendy likes this ride,” he replies. “You’ll be fine. Just trust me, Luce.”

“I do trust you… That doesn’t mean I trust roller coasters.”

“You’ll be screaming with joy. I promise.”

“Or just plain old screaming,” she jokes.

“And if you don’t like this ride, we can try other rides that aren’t roller coasters,” he assures her. “Or just go straight to the water park.”

Someone by the microphone starts speaking, going through the normal spiel about the ride. Lucy pays attention because it is all new to her while Natsu completely tunes it out. When the ride lurches forward to go along the tracks, Lucy’s breath hitches. She has a death grip on the bar in front of her.

“Relax, Luce.” Natsu puts a hand over one of hers. “Deep breath.”

She inhales deeply and holds it.

“You’re supposed to let it out,” he comments when her face starts turning red.

Then she exhales loudly. “Still nervous.”

“Scream out the nervousness when we go down the first hill.”

The roller coaster starts going up the incline, something to take in as a first time roller coaster rider. Her heart is already doing a thing, and this happens when she is super nervous and anxious.

“I’ll scream with you if you want,” Natsu says, wanting her to calm down.

She only nods in response.

When their cart starts going down the hill, Lucy’s stomach does flips. She screams loudly as they descend. Wind is whipping her high ponytail around. She can hear Natsu laughing beside her. For the rest of the ride, Lucy is able to keep her eyes open to see what is happening around her. Some things blur together and before she knows it, the roller coaster is back at the start.

“Welcome back, riders!” a voice says over speakers. “How was your ride?”

People in the blue roller coaster cheer.

Lucy undoes her seatbelt before the bar is unlocked. She has somewhat mixed feelings about her experience, but she knows that she at least liked it. She will probably be up for more roller coasters after a little break. Her legs are a little shaky from the adrenaline still coursing through her.

Since Lucy is not moving towards the bin to retrieve her bookbag, Natsu does it for her. After slinging it onto his back, he catches up with her to walk along her side. Then they travel down exit ramp together. 

“So what did you think?” Natsu asks, eager to hear her response. 

“I’ll need a little break before going on another one,” she replies. 

He smiles. “So you liked it?” 

“It wasn’t as bad as I thought,” she admits. 

Natsu then steers them over to a building that matches the roller coaster they were just on. Pictures taken during the ride are on display on monitors. When Natsu spots the photo of them, he points and cracks up. “Bwahaha, look at your face!” Did he think about telling her about the cameras? Yes, but he wanted her genuine reaction to be caught on camera.

She puffs her cheeks out as she looks over the photo. Her eyes are squeezed shut and she is really holding onto the bar. On the other hand, smooth as ever Natsu is winking at the camera because he had been ready for it. “I don’t like you,” she huffs, and turns on her heels to walk away. 

“Aw, c’mon,” Natsu says, going after her. “It’s funny.”

“Says you.”

Lucy decides to change the topic from the photo. “Hey, if you want me riding more rides, I have to go to the bathroom first.”

“Sure thing. Bathrooms are over”-he points a finger to where they clearly are-“there. I’ll wait for you over”-he points by an empty bench-“there.”

“I won’t be long.”

“You got five minutes before I bust down doors looking for you,” he jokes.

She gasps, knowing that he would probably do it. “You will do no such thing!”

“Fineee,” he sighs dramatically. “I’ll behave.”

“Good.” Then Lucy pecks his cheek before going off on her own. Surprisingly, there is no wait so she is able to get in and get out relatively quickly. When she exits the bathroom, she heads towards where Natsu said he would be only to see that he is not there. She glances around for his familiar pink hair, but sees no trace of him.

Reasoning that he went to the bathroom while she was gone, she sits down on the bench and waits for him. And waits. And waits…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: Am I fast walker? Hella. Does my fiancé hafta hold my hand so I don’t lose him and slow my roll? Totally. So it made sense for Natsu to hold Lucy’s hand to ensure that she didn’t wander off when looking around XD And Natsu is totally protective over Lucy, even if she’s unaware of it! And speaking of Natsu, where did he go… ?
> 
> A/N Part 2: Again, my wisdom teeth surgery is next week. I dunno if I’ll have an update for y’all then, but if I can get it on Sunday, I will! But we’ll see!!


	45. Chapter 45

Lucy is unaware of how much time has passed. Maybe it has been more than ten minutes since she last saw Natsu. Maybe it has even been more. She cannot check her phone for the time because it is in her bookbag which Natsu has. Which also means that she cannot contact him. Well, she can try asking a stranger to borrow their phone, but in her current state, she cannot recall the correct sequence of numbers.

She cannot understand why he left without waiting for her to return. Well, unless something came up. But what could possibly happen to make Natsu leave? Lucy is conflicted with waiting for him and going out to look for him. If she tries searching him, she is not even sure where to begin. If she waits some more, there is a chance for him to come back since they agreed to meet back here.

Passing some time, Lucy watches all of the people around her in hopes that she may spot a familiar face. She sees couples and groups of friends. It is like she is seeing everyone, but the one person she is looking for her. 

“What if something happened to him…?” she murmurs to herself. 

Lucy highly doubts that Natsu went looking for trouble, but sometimes trouble has a way of finding him. She abruptly stands up when she starts hearing a familiar voice calling her name as they get closer and closer. She looks towards the voice until she spots the face it belongs to. “Natsu!” she shouts. 

He is running towards Lucy, a Band-Aid on his left cheek. He seems worried, but the look on his face disappears when he finally sees her. “Luce!” 

She meets him halfway so he does not have to run all of it. “Where have you been?”

“Long story short… I’m back!”

She is utterly confused. “Back? Back from where? And what happened to your face?”

“Tis but a scratch,” he says, quoting one of his favorite movies. He considers it to be a classic.

She is not buying it at all.

“No seriously, it’s just a scratch. A little one. I’m only wearing this”-he points at the Band-Aid-“because the lady insisted on it.”

“Wait, what lady?”

“It’s nothing to worry about,” he assures her. 

Lucy crosses her arms under her chest. “Story time. Talk.”

So Natsu starts explaining things. “Some punk grabbed a lady’s bag. She saw him and called him out. He ran so I chased after him since nobody else seemed to be helping out. Slight scuffle between us. Staff came and took care of him. The lady thanked me, but wouldn’t lemme leave even though I told her I had to get back. I figured you were waiting for me. She kept saying she wanted to reward me and blah. I didn’t want anything. So, being such a mom, she put the Band-Aid on before letting me go. Theeen the police wanted to talk to me and that seemed to take forever. And I couldn’t text you what happened since I had your phone. That sucked for both of us I’m sure. Anyways, as soon as I was free to go, I ran back here. And now we’re here.”

Lucy manages to take everything in. It seems that she had been right about him being in trouble even if he did handle it.

His face softens. “Sorry ’bout all that.”

“And you promise that you’re all right?” she asks, seeing no sign of another form of injury from the scuffle.

He nods. “Totally fine. The scratch doesn’t hurt or nothing.”

Stepping forward to close the gap between them, Lucy hugs her boyfriend. She is starting to wonder what she did to deserve someone like him. “I’m glad that everything turned out all right in the end.”

He hugs her back. “Me, too.”

When they break apart, Lucy wants their fun to continue. “So are you up for more rides?”

Natsu grins. “I’m all fired up!”

**x-X-x ******

They are now eating lunch at a small table, planning on going to the water park portion afterwards. The hot sun is great, but they want to cool off a little bit with water. Lucy is busy munching on the rest of her fries while Natsu is still eating. Of course, he ordered more than her due to his appetite. Even now, Lucy cannot figure out where all of it goes. She can only assume that he exercises to work it off due to his physique.

“So is there anything specific you wanna do at the water park?” Natsu asks after he swallows his bite of burger. 

“I’ve never been there before so I’m not entirely sure,” she replies. “Whatever is fun I guess.”

“Well, think of the hotel we’re at. Do you like the wave pool? Body slides or tube slides? Like, if you wanna do over the other, that’s cool.”

“What’s your favorite ride there?”

He grins. “Boogie boarding.”

“Wait, what? How can you do that at a water park?”

“They have two different ones. One’s good for getting better and doing the bigger one. Anyways, they both stimulate the conditions to boogie board. One of ’em is just a narrow strip for you to ride on for as long as you can. Can’t do much else. The other one, my favorite, has a lotta space for you to do tricks and stuff.”

“What tricks can you do? I mean, besides wiping out.”

He sticks his tongue out her for his comment. “Not many. I can be on my knees. About it.”

“I’ll stick to being on my stomach.”

“Hey, girls pick it up faster than guys.”

She perks up a little. “Really?”

He nods. “Yeah. For some reason.”

“How do you know that?”

“Last time I was here doing it, a group of dudes from down south were there. They even had their own boogie boards to use since they’re so into it. Some of ’em taught me some tricks and tips. They mentioned girls pick it up faster, too.”

“That seems neat.”

“It was a ton of fun hanging out with ’em.” He chuckles a little bit. “I got horribly burned, but worth it.”

“How about we try avoiding that? You don’t need to be burned for Paris.”

“ _Oui ___!” he agrees in French.

Lucy smiles a little. “ _Je t’aime ___.”

He smiles from ear to ear, loving it whenever speaks the little French that she does know. “ _Je t’aime tellement ___.”

She is pretty sure that she knows what he just told her. “You love me so much?”

He only nods.

She totally pats herself on the back. Her lessons will eventually pay off. Perhaps there will come a day where she can Natsu can have a full conversation in French! “I have to get better at my accent. We don’t sound the same when we talk.”

“I’ve been doing this since I was adopted so I’ve got a couple years on you.” He truly does appreciate her efforts into learning the language that his a second nature to him. In fact, he appreciates just about everything about his Luce.

“Just a couple,” she teases.

“Only a couple,” he chuckles.

“Now hurry up and eat your burger. I want to try out that boogie board ride.” She is somewhat eager to try it out since it is something new.

“Aye, sir!” So Natsu keeps munching away and starts choking when he tries to swallow.

Lucy holds out his drink for him. “I meant without choking!”

He waves a hand, signaling he does not need his soda to help his current condition. “I’ll”-he coughs a little-“be fine.” Then he hits just below his collarbone with a fist to help. “Just fine.”

She is totally dubious. “I don’t want you die.”

“Not ever?”

“Not now,” she sasses. “Besides, immortality doesn’t seem like the best thing ever. Imagine watching your friends and family just come and go, but you stay the same. You won’t die like them.”

He blinks. “Wow. Like, that got deep pretty fast.”

“Sorry. Immortality was in the last book I read.”

“Pfft, who reads for fun?”

She arches an eyebrow at him. “Natsu, I write books for fun and as my job,” she reminds me. 

“Well, that’s because you’re a weirdo.”

“Look who’s talking.”

Natsu picks up fry and points it at her. “Hey!” 

Seizing the opportunity, she leans forward enough to snatch away the fry with her mouth. “Hay is for horses.”

He looks down at his empty hand. “But that was my fry!”

“You shouldn’t have offered it for me to eat.” And before he can snatch one of her fries to even the score, Lucy pulls her cardboard basket closer towards her.

“You better not lower your guard because I’ll pay you back for the crime you committed against me.”

“Crime?” she laughs. “As if.”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you…” In the end, Natsu will probably not do anything to exact his revenge. The anticipation of him doing something might just be enough to mess with Lucy. He still loves her though.

“If you don’t hurry up and finish, I’ll just go without you…” she teases. 

That is enough to spur Natsu into eating faster without choking. As if he will let his bikini clad girlfriend, who could possibly be a model if she wants to, go out on her own without him around to protect her! He will be damned if he cannot his princess since he is her loyal dragon!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: I’m baaack!! Surgery went well, except for one tooth that was mighty stubborn in coming out :P I had chipmunk cheeks for days and didn’t let my fiancé visit me until after the swelling went down quite a bit XD I’m still recovering even now, but I’m muuuch better off than before :D 
> 
> A/N Part 2: I’ll also be posting a new one-shot after this chapter! Featuring NaLu (of course)!! More funny and general things than anything else. Calling it Talk Harry Potter To Me.


	46. Chapter 46

After applying sunscreen to the last part of his body, Natsu puts it into the locker they are renting and closes the door. Then he turns to face his girlfriend. “You good to…” His voice trails off as he watches her. He still cannot get over how great she makes that maroon bikini look.

Lucy is busy retying her hair into a pony tail. “What?” she asks, taking note of his silence. 

He shakes his head, as if snapping himself back to normal. “Nothing.”

“Don’t you “nothing” me, Natsu,” she says. “What?”

He steps towards her, arms wrapping around her waist to bring her against him. “You’re great. Wonderful. Perfect.”

She giggles. “Oh, do go on.”

“I can go on and on with you, Luce. Could probably write a saga about you.”

“A saga?” she snorts.

“Sagas. Chronicles. Tales.” He grins at her. “Whichever works best for you.”

“All of the above,” she teases.

Natsu smooches her forehead. “All of the above it is then.”

Her eyes steal a glance at the Band-Aid still on his face. “Are you going to take that off?”

He knows what she is referring to. “Yeah, I guess it should be fine.” So he steps back and works at peeling off the Band-Aid. “It’s really on here.” Then he manages to get it off. “How’s it look?”

The little cut itself is fine. Perhaps something from a finger nail. It will heal just fine. What Lucy is focusing on is the slight tan line from the Band-Aid. It is noticeable enough for her since she is close to his face. She starts laughing. 

“What’s wrong?” he asks, tilting his head to one side in confusion. 

She points to her own right cheek to mirror image him. “There’s a small tan line from it.”

His eyes grow wide. “How noticeable is it?!” 

“It should be fine by tomorrow,” she assures him.

“I’m gonna hafta sunbathe just my face to even it out,” he deadpans. 

“Then you’ll really be red.”

“I think I’d rather be that way than have a Band-Aid tan line on my face.” His face falls. “My old man won’t lemme live this down if he sees me this way…”

“So I’ll make sure not to take photos with it showing. Easy as that.”

“Okay, enough about my face. Whatcha wanna do first?”

“Actually, I think I want to try out the lazy river,” Lucy admits. 

He arches an eyebrow. “Really?”

“I want to relax a little before some excitement. Then take on the boogie board challenge.” She is excited to try that out.

Natsu takes her hand and leads the way. “Your wish is my command.”

She smiles, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. “Same goes for you. Just because I haven’t been here before doesn’t mean that we can’t do things that you like.”

“Making you happy makes me happy. Simple as that.”

When the duo reaches the lazy river, named Splash River rightfully so, Natsu goes into the water first to grab a free single tube for Lucy. He stands there, holding it for her. “C’mon, Luce!”

She steps down into the water, enjoying the refreshing feel of it. Lucy walks over to her boyfriend and takes a hold of the tube. “You get in.”

He blinks. “Huh?”

She pats the tube with a hand. “I’ll get in after you. You first.”

He laughs, going along with it. “Okay, then.” So Natsu steadies the tube with his hands before nestling in. His feet hang over it while his arms rest on the tube. “Onward!”

“Aye, sir!” Lucy moves Natsu along, guiding him past people so they do not accidentally bump into anyone. At one point, she takes a hand and splashes water at him.

“H-Hey!” he laughs. “Not funny!”

She only laughs. “I’m having fun!”

Then he smiles because she is smiling. 

Lucy purposely steers Natsu under a steam of water so just he gets wet. He has no chance of escaping it. “Luceee!” he whines.

“I have to cool off your hot head somehow,” she teases. 

“Pfft, that’s impossible!” 

She leans her face close to his. “Do you want a surprise?” 

His green eyes grow wide. “Y-yeah.”

She grins a little. “Close your eyes…”

He does as he is told, starting to lean his head towards her in order to kiss her.

Then she does what Natsu is least expecting. Lucy grabs the bottom of the tube and tips it over, flipping her boyfriend right with it.

He splashes into the water with flailing limbs and a shout. 

She busies herself with the flipping the tube right-side up and positions herself to sit inside of it.

Natsu surfaces and runs a hand through his hair, sending droplets everywhere. “Hey! What was that for?!”

She playfully sticks her tongue out at him. “Like I said, you first and then me.”

He grins. “Oh, it’s on, Luce!”

**x-X-x ******

Lucy is watching what is happening before her in amazement. She is practically in awe. She has never seen anything like this before.

The large wave machine itself shoots water out, making the waves hard enough to be ridden on. The water curves around as it just out. There is plenty of space to move around. There is a ride attendant at the starting point and a life guard sitting on their stand on the other side.

The current guy riding the boogie board is highly skillful. Practice clearly shows. He started out by lying on his stomach, but now he is on his knees. He is in control as he rides. 

Natsu is slightly jealous that Lucy is looking at other guys with that expression. But then again, he is impressed, too.

Then the guy on the boogie board purposely wipes out in a dramatic fashion. It is time for the next person in line to take their turn. The strong waves carry him and the boogie board up to the end point at the top of the ramp. He stands up straight, grabs his board, and bows to the people in line. When he straightens up, he shoots Lucy, the only girl in line, a wink. 

Showing that she has no interest in him, Lucy tears her gaze away from him to look back at Natsu. “So when’s the last time you did this?” she asks. 

“Last year,” he replies. “I spent hours here. Got really burned.”

The next guy starts his turn on the ride, but neither of the two pay attention to him.

“More pink than your hair?” Lucy teases. 

Natsu cracks up. “My skin put my hair to shame.”

When the current the guy washes up, the next one, an older guy with his own board, starts his turn. Now Natsu is next up and he has a bright yellow board supplied by the park.

Lucy nudges him with an elbow. “Are you nervous?”

“Pffft, no way. I’m gonna rock it.”

“Surrre.”

He holds a hand over his heart, feigning injury. “That hurts, Luce.”

She playfully rolls her eyes. “Whatever you say, Dorkneel.” 

Natsu grins a little. That nickname is growing on him a bit.

After doing some more tricks, the current rider steers his boogie board up the ramp to end his turn. 

“Good luck,” Lucy says as Natsu walks away. 

“Woo!” he shouts. 

“So have you done this before?” the guy next to Lucy asks. 

She looks at him, shaking her head. “No.”

He shoots her a little grin. “Want any tips?”

“I’ve been watching what people have been doing. I think I get the gist of it.”

“You’ll pick it up quick. Girls do quicker than guys.”

“So I’ve heard.” Then she turns her attention to Natsu as he drops down. 

He does not last long. Perhaps only a few seconds. Then he gets all washed up. Natsu grabs the board and walks over to Lucy to hand it up to her. 

“Not bad after being away for so long,” she teases. 

“Hey, no smack talking from you until you go.” Then Natsu heads to the back of the line. 

“Your boyfriend or something?” the guy next to her asks. 

She nods. “He’s great.” Then she walks off to have a go at the ride. 

The ride attendant at the start corrects how she is holding the board since she is holding it upside down. Then he tells her what do before letting her go. 

Lucy’s stomach is in slight knots. She has never done anything like this. The power of generated waves now seems intimating since they are right in front of her. But she will not back down. Then Lucy goes for it. 

The water instantly sprays up in her face. She can feel the waves underneath the board that her body is pressing against. Her feet slightly drag in the water behind her. Lucy tries adjusting her left arm for control, but the opposite happens. With only one arm pressing down on the right side of the board, the board moves right along with the flow. Before she can tumble off the board, she clings on and ride the board up the ramp without getting washed away from it. 

Lucy made it out all in one piece. 

Natsu shoots her a grin from where he is. “You did it, Luce!” 

She laughs, totally wanting to give the ride another go and beat her current time out on the water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: When I went to Kings Island, me and my then boyfriend (now fiancé) spent hours doing that ride. We both burned, but he was much worse off than me XD It was a lotta fun, and more to come on the boogie board portion! 
> 
> Happy Halloween!! :D


	47. Chapter 47

_**SO THERE ARE _2 ___BIG MILETONES FOR CAF. First of all, CAF’s first birthday is today (just after midnight on Nov 2 so it counts!!. I never woulda even thought that this supposed-to-be-one-shot would still be going on now! Also, CAF has just over 1k followers on FFnet! Like, omsqueeeee!!!! :D As a thank you, here’s a new, longer than usual chapter ahead of normal Monday updates!! I’m happy that I managed to find time to write it all so quickly, too. Anyways, enjoy, and thank you again so much!! ** __****_

By now, both Lucy and Natsu are getting a better hang of things. The more she watches, the more she learns. The guys typically keep their weight on the left side of the board since they are right-handed. They purposely have their left leg barely hang over the edge of the board. Of course, practice out on the water helps as well.

The couple is having a mini competition to see who can last the longest. As of now, Natsu has the lead, but only by a couple of seconds. Lucy totally plans on beating him. 

Being the only girl has attracted attention from the other guys similar in age. Most seem to absentmindedly forget that Lucy is here with her boyfriend. Some do strike up conversations with the couple, but she receives plenty more attention than him. The two men that can pass as her father clearly have an interest in just the water and having fun. 

The current guy using one of the park’s boogie boards only lasts seconds before the waves overpower him. He washes up along with the boogie board at the exit. He shakes off the fall and hands the board to the next person who needs it.

Natsu is wobbly from the start and it shows when he falls off the boogie board in the blink of an eye. He gets washed up, much like the person before him. 

Now Lucy is towards the front of line without him to be besides her. Apart from the older guy about to go, there is another in front of her before she can take her turn. All she has to do now is put up with any unwanted attention from any guy she has no interest in. The only guy with her interest has pink hair…

“So you’ve never done this before?” a guy named Rory asks. He is the one in line before her on her left.

Lucy shakes her head. “Not until today.”

“She’s pretty good, huh?” Trevor asks from her right side.

Travis grins, also standing on her right side. “And getting better from the looks of things.”

“Practicing helps.” Then Lucy steals a glance at Natsu, discovering he is making small talk with the guys near him. So much for getting his attention.

“Do you want any more tips?” Trevor offers. He is being genuine about things and not trying to hit on her. In fact, he has been the one giving her and Natsu the most tips. 

“I think I need more practice is all,” she replies, looking at him. “You’ve already helped Natsu and me out enough. More than enough–”

Without warning, Travis reaches a hand over to Lucy and pulls at a string near her neck.

The bow comes undone, but the top portion stays around her neck all because she has it double knotted. She always double knots her bikini tops. Always. Lucy quickly reaches up to keep it secure. It is keeping her top from dropping down and flashing everyone in the nearby vicinity.

He laughs along with some of the guys who saw what happened. Rory is unaware about what just happened since he had been watching the guy out on the waves. On the other hand, Trevor gives Travis a look. “ _Not ___cool, dude.”

She shoots him a glare and starts tying another knot and bow. “Don’t do that again.” 

“Aww, c’mon,” Travis chuckles. “It was a joke.”

“I didn’t find it funny,” Lucy scowls.

Trevor whacks Travis upside the head. “If she finds it not funny, then it definitely isn’t sorry.”

Travis rubs his sore spot. “Hey!”

Now that Lucy has secured her top properly, she makes sure to face Travis. She will make a scene the next time he lays an unwanted hand on her. Perhaps give him a well deserved Lucy Kick without hesitation.

After a bit, Rory is riding the waves, and Lucy is next in line. She is listening to Trevor while he tells her how he got into boogie boarding. All the while, she is blatantly ignoring Travis as though he does not exist. She has yet to forgive him for what he did to her, and she has no intentions of doing so.

Trevor stops mid-sentence to crack up when Rory takes a tumble.

Lucy looks over just in time to see him and his board get washed away. “That seemed like it hurt.”

“He’ll walk it off,” Trevor says. “He always does.”

With park board in hand, Lucy walks over to the start of the ride. She takes a deep breath, feeling confidence rise within her. All right. She will make this her best run yet. She can feel it!

Then she drops down into the water. She focuses at keeping more weight on her left side, letting her left foot drag in the water. She is pretty much staying in place. Lucy is not going for fancy tricks like the guys can do. She just wants to stay out on the water for as long as she can. And for now, she is doing just that.

“Yeah, go, Luce!” Natsu cheers.

But soon enough, the power of the waves are getting to her. She is losing the battle. Then she really loses it when the waves carry her over to the right. She roughly gets thrown into the wall of the ride, some water unpleasantly rushing up her nose. As she is tossed around, Lucy releases the board to grab a hold of her chest. She needs her boobs to stop bouncing around all over the place. Having a well-endowed chest does have its downsides at times.

When Lucy gets washed up the ramp, something feels off. Her top is loose. When she looks down to see what is wrong, she makes an unpleasant discovery. The knots around her neck and back have both come undone! The two sets are hanging down in front of her. The only thing keeping her top in place is her hands!

She has no doubt that some of the guys are ogling her. She does not need to turn around to see it.

“Luce!” Natsu shouts, getting out of the line to help her. At least he is towards the end of it.

She only remains in place as she hunches over. Her wet hair is sticking to her, not acting like a curtain like she wants it to. She feels really exposed…

When Natsu reaches her, he pulls her to her feet and ushers her to the bathroom. Luckily, it is already in sight and not that far away. Perhaps someone planned having it practically next door to a ride where people can lose part of their bikinis.

“I didn’t think something like this would happen,” Natsu admits. “There was one time I thought I was gonna lose my shorts, but they stayed on. Tying a tighter knot helped.”

“I had double knots on me.” And one knot was better off than the other all because she had tie it again after Travis messed with her. 

“I’ll wait out here for you,” Natsu says when they reach the entrance to the women’s’ bathroom. “Promise I won’t disappear like last time.”

Quickly making her way into the bathroom, Lucy goes into the nearest changing stall and closes the curtain behind her. Then she gets to work at adjusting her top and retying it in place. She is all sorts of fired up now. She had a great ride, her longest time yet, only to have it ruined because of a wardrobe malfunction. However, she does not plan on letting something like that stop her.

When Lucy exits the bathroom, she easily finds Natsu. “Hey,” she greets, getting his attention.

He looks over, smiling at her. “Lookin’ better than before.” Then he meets her halfway so she does not have to do all of the walking. “So what do you wanna do now?”

She looks towards the giant wave machine. “I want to try again.” 

He blinks. “Say what now?”

She will not allow her last time on that ride end where she nearly ended up topless. She is too stubborn for that. Lucy looks at him. “I’m not giving up just yet.”

He seems interested due to her passionate tone. “Oh, yeah?”

“I won’t let my last time on that thing be when I almost lost my top.”

“You practically did,” Natsu comments.

She points a finger against his chest. “I didn’t flash anyone and that”-she prods his chest-“is what counts.”

He grins. “I like it when you get all fired up.”

Then Lucy leans forward to kiss his lips. “I know you do. Now let’s go.”

Hand in hand, the couple makes their way back over to the ride.

An older guy towards the end of the line is the first to notice them. “Back so soon?” he questions.

“We’re not done just yet,” Natsu answers.

“Gimme a sec.” Keeping his board in hand, the older guy steps out of line to walk over to the nearby stands. Belongings are strewn all about along the metal stands. He makes his way over to a bookbag that has a muscle shirt draped over it and grabs the top. 

The couple exchanges a glance with one another. Neither of the two knowing what is going on.

When the older guy walks back over to them, he holds out the muscle shirt for her. “I shoulda given this to you sooner.”

Lucy and Natsu are both confused. “Huh?” she asks.

“I thought your swimsuit was gonna be fine since it seemed to be staying on, but that wasn’t the case. Wear this and it’ll help keep things in place.”

After taking the top from him, Lucy slips into it. It is plenty big on her, practically a mini dress. The big skull is not up her fashion alley, but she is not complaining about the design. Then she looks up at the older guy. “Thank you.”

He grins. “Now kick ass out there!”

Lucy grins back. “You can count on that.”

“Hey, got a trick for keeping trunks on?” Natsu inquires.

“Shoelaces help keep shorts in place.” Then the older guy shifts his gaze to Lucy. “But they can’t do much for what you’re wearing.”

She only shrugs. “That makes sense.”

“Hey, look who’s back!” a familiar voice shouts, gaining attention.

Lucy rolls her eyes at the annoying sound of Travis’ voice. 

“Aww, you got yourself a new top,” Travis pouts.

“We liked the show from earlier!” another guy shouts.

“Hey, I’m the only who gets to see her show!” Natsu growls in a protective manner.

That is a total lie. The most naked he has seen her is when she is wearing a bikini.

“Front row seat, too!” Lucy adds with a wink.

Clearly, that is another lie.

However, no one else knows that besides Lucy and Natsu.

Then she looks at her boyfriend. “Speaking of kicking ass, I kicked your ass on my last go. I totally lasted longer than your longest run yet.”

A glint appears in his eyes. “Did you, my girlfriend, just cuss not only once, but _twice ___in a single sentence?”

She grins. “You bet your ass I did.”

He cracks up, grabbing her head with a hand to pull her in for a smooch. He kisses the top of her wet head. “You’re cute as fuck.”

“Right back at you, Dorkneel.”

**x-X-x ******

More than an hour later, Lucy and Natsu are both tired and calling it quits for the day. They know they both will be sore come tomorrow morning. Since she is done, she has since taken off the borrowed top and set it out by correct bookbag to dry off. In the end, Lucy did much better than Natsu overall. She never did any fancy tricks or got up on her knees, but she lasted out on the water for a good bit.

“Look me up on Facebook!” Travis calls after the couple as they walk away. “It’s Travis–”

Natsu waves a hand back at him, dismissing the thought. “Yeah, yeah! Whatever!”

As if either of the two will search for him. They both hope they never cross paths with him again.

Slipping his hand into hers, Natsu pulls her closer. “You have fun?”

She nods. “I did. A lot of it. We didn’t even get around to the rest of the water park since that kept us occupied.”

“I told you it was fun.”

“It’s not like I doubted you,” she teases.

“Hey, when we get back to the hotel, can we nap?”

“A nap sounds good,” she admits. “But shower first and then nap.”

“Only if you shower with me,” Natsu says in a suggestive tone to tease her.

She playfully rolls her eyes. “Swimsuits stay on.”

“I know that,” he chuckles, smooching her left cheek. “Rules are rules.”

“Oh, and food,” Lucy says when the idea occurs to her. “I want food.”

Natsu’s face lights up. “Now you’re speaking my language!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The boogie board portion happened to me XD Only girl in line. Country boys trying to flirt even though my then boyfriend (now fiancé) was with me. The hopeless flirting. A dude trying to make my top fall down by undoing a knot (I’m still mad about that). My top and bottoms coming both untied (but luckily still covering me) after a wipeout. I can laugh about it now at least haha And that “Travis” guy totally wanted me to look him up on Facebook, but I never did :P
> 
> PS. Unlike Travis, Rory and Trevor had been nice since they come from Elvina! From More Than a Princess, Loke became Rory while Gray became Trevor. However, their personalities do differ in some ways XD In reality, I didn’t have a guy defend me when “Travis” tried undoing my bikini top. The now fiancé was out on the water and didn’t see (had to board without his glasses so he didn’t lose them :P). But I know how to handle myself!


	48. Chapter 48

The next morning, Lucy wakes up to Natsu softly humming a familiar song. The same song that he sings in French to her sometimes.

“You’re my sunshine, too, you know,” Lucy says, opening her eyes now that he is done humming.

Natsu is slightly surprised that she is awake, but does not show it. He simply runs a hand through her locks that are splayed about on the pillow. “Yeah, but you’re the one with golden sunshine blonde hair.”

“You can be a ray of pink sunshine if you want,” she teases.

“That’ll really stand out. Make a statement.”

Lucy playfully rolls her eyes. “You always do. Wherever you go.”

“You think I do, but it’s really you.”

“As if, Mr. Model.”

“Miss Author,” Natsu sasses. 

“Mr. Model and Miss Author,” she muses. “What an interesting combination.”

He grins. “We’re a great pair.” Then he leans forward for a kiss. 

“Whoa, I have morning breath!” Lucy warns, covering her mouth with a hand. 

He makes a face at her. “So what? I do, too.”

“You’re not kissing me until I brush my teeth.”

Something sparks in his green eyes. “What was that?”

“No,” she says firmly.

“Challenge accepted–”

With quick thinking on Lucy’s part, she grabs the pillow Natsu is not using and hits his face with it.

“Oh, it’s on now!” Then he moves and lies down on top of her, practically squishing her with his body. He knows that he is too heavy for her to move. Plus, he is stronger than her.

“Natsu, you’re heavy,” she whines. Her attempts at pushing him off are feeble. He is too sturdy for her.

He dramatically gasps. “Are you calling me fat?”

“I think your abs prove that you aren’t.”

“Because I’m abs-olutely pec-tacular!”

Lucy cracks up at his puns. “Th-that’s so stupid!” She laughs some more.

“Hey, Lug Nuts thought it was hilarious when he first said it.”

“Gajeel always thinks he’s funny.”

“But he’s not.”

“He’s better than you,” she sasses.

“Take it back.”

“Never.”

Natsu’s eyes flash. “Take it back orrr you’ll regret it.”

Her first thought is that he will try and tickle her. He will have to pull down the covers in order to get directly to her sides.

However, he does what she did not want him to do in the first place. He leans forward and kisses her lips.

Now that he is already doing it, she does not protest. 

He grins. “And in the end, I got what I wanted.”

She playfully rolls her eyes. “You’re such a dork.”

“Hey, that’s Mr. Dorkneel to you.” Then he winks at her. “And one of these days, you’ll be Mrs. Dorkneel.”

Her cheeks tint pink. “H-how can you say that?”

“Because I know what I want.” He cracks a smile. “And you’re in too deep to get away from me.”

“We haven’t even been dating for two months.”

“It’s the twenty-second now. We’re close to the first.”

That date means something else to them. “That’s when you’ll get back from France, right?”

“ _Oui ___."

“It’ll be a long week without you. It’ll be quiet for sure.”

“No staying cooped up in the apartment to sulk though,” Natsu says, booping her noise.

“As if I’m going to be out partying like crazy.”

“True, but I still wantcha doing things.”

“Hey, writing counts. And I’ll be at your house at different points to spend time with Happy and Carla.”

“They’re going to like having you there.”

“They both like me better than you anyways,” she teases, booping his nose.

“Too bad I like you more than the both of ’em together. In fact, I loveee you.”

“No need to get defensive over your cats,” Lucy chuckles.

“Hey, they’ve had it coming. Especially Happy.” Then he mutters under his breath. “That traitor…”

Lucy ruffles her boyfriend’s hair with a hand. “So what’s the plan for today?”

Tomorrow they will drive back home so they have to make the most of today.

“I say we have fun at the water park here, eat lunch, then go to the place,” Natsu replies.

She is confused. “The place?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“A good or bad surprise?”

“You’ll just have to wait and see,” he cackles.

Then the couple finally makes their way out of bed to get ready for the water park. Since they are taking turns, Natsu changes in the bathroom while Lucy changes in the main area. He waits until she gives him the a-okay to come on out.

As Natsu walks by Lucy who is pulling her back into a high ponytail, he bats the strings hanging past her neck like a cat.

Lucy flashes back to what Travis did to her yesterday, now not liking hands near the ties of her bikini. “Hey!” she exclaims, letting her hair fall down as her hands drop to her sides.

He seems taken aback. “S-sorry. I was just joking.”

She inhales deeply in order to calm herself before speaking. “I over reacted with you. I’m sorry. It’s just that Travis tried doing that yesterday–”

“Wait, what?”

He has been oblivious that Travis attempted to have her bikini top come down. He clearly missed the moment when it happened. Well, he did not have an inkling about it until now…

“Luce,” Natsu says when his girlfriend does not speak up. “What did he do?”

“He tried undoing the top part of my bikini”-she points to the bow at the back of her neck-“but his plan didn’t work all of the way. He only undid one knot and not both since I double knot.”

“Ugh, I knew I didn’t like that no good bastard. And not just because of the open flirting he did with you. Gut feeling. Like worms crawling around in my stomach.”

She makes a face at his description. “Ew.”

“And don’t go thinking that you hafta change what you’re wearing to avoid that. Guys are just gonna hafta learn that they can’t go and do shit like that. You rock that bikini and rock it good.”

Lucy cracks a grin. “You’re all fired up.”

“Did the cussing give it away?” he teases, slipping on a shirt so he can walk through the hotel without a problem.

“Hey, at least we’ll never see him again,” she points out, trying to look at the bright side. She starts gathering her hair again to put it up.

Natsu grins. “You got that right.”

When it comes down to it, the last thing Lucy needs in order to be ready are her sandals. However, she can only find one of them even though she put them together last night.

While he waits on her, Natsu is leaning against a portion of the wall. Just to mess with her because he loves her, he is balancing the “lost” sandal on his head. He is amused that she has yet to catch onto him. “What’s up, Luce?”

“I can’t find my other shoe…” She gets down on her knees to check under the bed, thinking it somehow got kicked under it. Much to her disappointment, it is not there.

“When’s the last time you saw it?”

“Last night.” Then she looks around the nightstand, but still sees no sign of it.

“Huh. Weird.”

Lucy sits back on her heels as her eyes scan over the floor.

Natsu does his best to not burst into a fit of laughter. “Maybe it’ll turn up…”

She looks up at him. “I don’t get–” She cuts herself off when her eyes narrow in on what she has been looking for. “Natsu…” 

He laughs wholeheartedly, grabbing the sandal from his head before it can fall off from his shaking. “H-here.”

Standing up, she puffs her cheeks out as she steps towards him to take her shoe. “You’re a child.”

“But you love me anyways.”

“I never said that.”

“You didn’t hafta say it directly. I already know you do.” He holds a hand over his heart. “I can feel it deep down inside me.”

“The butterflies aren’t there.” She raps a hand against his abs. “They’re in there.”

“Forget a herd of butterflies. I feel a whole zoo because of you.”

Lucy laughs at his silliness. It always makes her days better. Always. “It’s not a herd of butterflies.”

“A gaggle then.”

“Kaleidoscope,” she corrects.

Natsu blinks. “Huh?”

“A group of butterflies is called a kaleidoscope. Some people call it a swarm or rabble, too. Personally, I like kaleidoscope. Oh, and a group of caterpillars is an army.”

“Wow, only a weirdo would know that.” 

She only shrugs. “The more you know…”

“Why do you even know that?”

“I have my reasons.”

“Lemme guess, writing reasons?”

He sees right through her. “Yes…” she admits.

Natsu smooches the top of her head. “You’re adorable.”

“I’m vicious.”

“Viciously adorable.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“It makes more sense than adorably vicious.”

“That doesn’t make sense either.”

“Exactly.”

She shakes her head. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Last one down to the pool is a rotten egg!”

**x-X-x ******

After lunch and a quick shower, Lucy and Natsu are wearing casual clothes. He has not given any hints on where he is taking her.

“When will I find out?” she asks as they head towards his car.

“You’ll find out when we get there,” he assures her.

“How long will the drive be?”

“Not long. Maybe twenty minutes.”

“Only twenty?”

“Ish.”

“Ish?” she mocks.

“Oh, and you hafta keep your eyes shut while I drive.”

She is surprised. “Why… ?”

“Because they’ll be road signs and they’ll ruin the surprise,” he reasons. “Duh.”

“Because I would have known that,” she sasses.

In reality, if Lucy had been paying attention to the world around her as they driving, she would have seen the signs. Instead, she had her nose in a book and her writing notebook. She was even napping during the last part of it.

As Natsu opens the door for his girlfriend, he smiles. “You’ll like it there. I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: I’ll admit. I planned on a bit more for this chapter. But then all of that fluff happened. On accident. I swear. No regrets though… But at least y’all will find out about “the place” in the next chapter :D
> 
> A/N Part 2: I’m planning on having the next arc start on Chapter 50! I dunno if something special will happen or not in that particular chapter since it’ll be the fiftieth chapter for this supposed-to-be-one-shot XD
> 
> A/N Part 3: For those who haven’t read it yet, I posted a one-shot recently. Called 50 Shades of Green. Features NaLu and if you can’t guess by the title, jealousy is involved :P I had fun writing, and from the look of things, people enjoyed reading it!


	49. Chapter 49

The Cerulean Aquarium is impressive on the outside, but it is even more impressive on the inside. It has over fifteen galleries and seventy-five exhibits. There are interactive parts with aquatic life as well. The Aquarium is well-known for their multiple, seamless acrylic tunnels people can walk through. 

Lucy has heard so much about this place, but she has never been before. Well, until now. All because of her amazing boyfriend.

“I figured that we can take things easy today,” Natsu says, locking the car as they head for the entrance.

Her eyes don’t leave the building. “Have you been here before?” she asks.

“Nope. So it’ll be a first time for us both.” Then he takes a hold of her hand, ensuring that she doesn’t stray from him.

After a quick exchange of tickets, the couple is admitted into the Cerulean Aquarium. It doesn’t take long for Lucy to be completely enthralled at what she is already seeing. Right along with children, she is standing next to the glass.

It is like a whole other world on the other side. An underwater realm. Some kind of magical place with hidden wonders.

Something is stirring inside of Lucy. She can feel it.

All while Lucy is watching what is in front of her, Natsu is looking at what is in front of him. Well, specifically at a certain thing. A someone. His girlfriend. He is amazed that she is so amazed. Perhaps he should have taken her here before now. 

Unbeknownst to her, Natsu takes a few photos of her. Maybe he’ll text her a few later, just to tease her. But at that rate, she’ll know that he wasn’t paying attention to the fish.

When they move on to the next part, things fall into place when Lucy notices a diver in a tank. The writing fire in her is ignited, a spark in her eyes. She fishes out her phone. “I need a minute...”

“Or two,” Natsu chuckles. “What’s up?”

She already has a new note from her writing app open. “Idea. New idea. Different.”

He watches her while she is in her writing zone. When she gets like this, there is no stopping her. So he waits.

“What do you have so far?” Natsu asks after a few minutes. He doesn’t lean forward to peek at her screen. He knows how self-conscious she gets when people do that.

“The main girl has been mute since birth and works at an aquarium as a mermaid,” Lucy begins to explain. “Like, put on a tail and swim around in a tank kind of mermaid. She’s a free diver.”

“Free diver?” Natsu questions, unfamiliar with the term.

“Like scuba diving, but without the air tank and some other equipment. Well, maybe she’ll use a monofin or something to help her swim around. Goggles for sure so she can see. She has to hold her breath, but she can hold it for some minutes. Under five for sure.”

“Oh, that’s cool! Hey, since she can do all of that, she probably passes a real mermaid.”

She nods. “Exactly.”

“Got a name for her?”

She shakes her head. “Not yet. No names for the twins either.”

“Twins?”

“A family moves in with twins. A boy and girl. I don’t know who the older one is yet. Maybe the girl…”

“So what kinda universe is it?”

“It’s like the real world we live in, but there’s a parallel magical one. Mythical beings exist and everything. The twins and their family are magic users. Like mages since I like it more than sorcerers.”

“The main girl learns about magic when she follows the girl twin. I’m still working out that detail, but I want the girl twin to be the reason she discovers that magic exists.”

“What about the twin brother?”

“I’m still debating if I want him to be the love interest. His sister would totally ship it though.”

“Wait, so if magic does exist, could somebody use magic on the mute girl to make her talk?”

Lucy shakes her head. “In this case, I don’t want magic to be able to fix everything. Not all of the time. Even if it did work, she would have to learn how to speak properly. That would take time. So I can bypass all of that by keeping her mute. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with a mute character or person.”

“Huh, I wouldn’t have thought about that. Err, the first half that you talked about. So what else do you have?”

“That’s it.”

“Really?”

“For now. I’m sure that more will come to me. Just give it time.”

Natsu takes a moment to look at his girlfriend. 

“Are you all right?” she asks with uncertainty. 

“I look around and see cool fish. You look and see a whole other world. One that you took a few minutes to come up with.”

“I like being creative.”

“It’s awesome. Amazing.”

“We all have our skills.”

“At least I’m good-looking.”

She playfully rolls her eyes. “Yes, at least you have that going for you.”

“Look who’s talking.”

“Me? What about me? You’re the model in this relationship, remember?”

“Hey, we were photographed together, remember? There’s even proof in my room.”

“You can’t even see my face.”

“But _I ___know it’s _you ___. And that’s what counts for me.”

“Whatever floats your boat.”

“Speaking of boat, I hafta go to the bathroom.”

She laughs. “That was a horrible segue.”

“But you laughed so mission accomplished.” Then Natsu leans forward to smooch her head. “I’ll be back so stay here, Luce.”

“Aye, sir.” Then she gets back to her phone while he walks away.

Names… What names will she go with? Should the twins have similar sounding names? Heck, what about last names for everyone? What about–

“Hey, Lucy,” a voice says from off to her right.

Lucy looks over to discover Nathan standing by her side. “Oh, it’s you,” she deadpans. Then she goes back to her phone.

“Pfft, what kind of greeting is that?”

She blatantly ignores him, acting as though he isn’t next to her. She angles the screen of her phone so he can’t possibly see what she is typing.

He playfully bumps her shoulder. “Do you remember me?”

“I remember the feeling of me wanting you not around anymore…” she sasses.

“Aww, you can’t mean that.”

Looking away from her phone, she looks him in the eye. “I do.”

Nathan tries bouncing back from her shutting him down. “How about we start over?”

“Pass.”

A look of irritation comes across his face. “Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“Look, you’re a pretty hot girl and I’m a nice guy. I want a fresh start between us.”

After slipping her phone into a back pocket, Lucy is fluid with her movements. She takes Nathan’s left hand and forces it behind is back, constraining him. Then she shoves him against the glass, the front part of his body smooshed against it.

Most people who notice back away from the small altercation. Some others take out their phones to record what is happening.

“You clearly can’t take any verbal hints, so here’s a physical one,” Lucy says through gritted teeth. “I’m not interested in you. I won’t ever be. I’m not even flattered by the attention you’re giving me.” She pushes his arm up higher along his back. “So leave me alone.”

Having witness his girlfriend in action, Natsu approaches the duo. “Didn’t I warn you that when the princess is pissed it ain’t a pretty sight?”

Lucy releases her hold on Nathan and takes a few steps back, bumping into Natsu. She will have to call Capricorn later and thank him again for the mini self defense lessons.

 

Nathan flips over and presses himself against the glass. His eyes are wide, a panicked look to his face. He opens his mouth to speak, but nothing comes out.

“You better skedaddle so we can continue our date,” Natsu says, wrapping his arms possessively around her waist.

Without a word, Nathan bolts.

“I can’t believe that he found me,” Lucy huffs.

“His Luce Radar isn’t nearly as good as mine,” Natsu comments, some sort of smugness in his voice.

She playfully rolls her eyes, turning to face her boyfriend. “Oh, not nearly.”

“Hey, what you did earlier… was kinda hot,” he admits. “Not gonna lie.”

“You can thank Capricorn.” In fact, she will have to call Capricorn later and thank him again for the mini self defense lessons. The skills have come in handy.

Then he smooches her nose. “Ready to continue this date?”

She smooches his nose back. “Of course.”

**x-X-x ******

It is well past midnight now. Wearing their swimwear, Lucy and Natsu are soaking in the tub one last time. The water is just right and the bubbles are going. The mood is more than merry.

“Sh-shhh!” she chides, trying to suppress her own case of the giggles. “You’re t-too loud.”

However, his face only turns redder from all of the laughing he is doing. He told a joke, and he still thinking it is the best thing ever. “But-but-but–” However, he can’t get another word out in between laughing.

Lucy playfully rolls her eyes. “You’re such a weirdo.”

That seems to snap her boyfriend somewhat back to normal. “You’re clearly the weirdo in this relationship.”

She shakes her head. “No way.”

“You’re in denial.”

“Da Nile is a river,” she jokes.

He cracks up. “Okay, only a real weirdo would make that pun!”

“Only a true weirdo would laugh at it.”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Uh-huh.” Then Lucy splashes a little water his way.

Natsu holds his arms up to defend himself, but the water gets past him. He lowers his arms slightly, a different demeanor about him. “Did you just declare war on me, princess?”

“N-no,” she practically squeaks.

Mindful of her body parts under the water, he moves closer. Before long, their faces are next to each other. “Are you sure?”

Her heart skips a beat. “Yes,” she whispers.

He smirks and talks in a cheery voice. “Okay, just making sure!” Then he sits down next to her like nothing just happened between them.

She blinks at him, disappointed that nothing happened. “You’re such a tease…” she pouts.

“Oh, c’mere.” Natsu moves her onto his lap, starting a mini snuggle session. His arms wrap around her, keeping her close. Her back is against his chest.

The room is quiet except for the sound of bubbles. All of the laughter has since ceased.

“Hard to believe it’s our last night here, huh?” Natsu asks.

“I’ve had a lot of fun,” she says, being positive. “Like, a lot of fun.”

“Me, too, Luce.”

“I’m glad you decided to take this vacation with me.”

“As if I would have brought Ice Princess along,” he jokes.

“As if Juvia and I would have let that happen,” she teases.

“He’s not as great as a cuddle buddy like you.”

“Besides, I don’t like sharing my personal furnace of a cuddle buddy.”

“So you _do ___want me for my body.”

“Well, you _are ___a model…” Then she giggles. “It only took you two months to realize it.”

Unbeknownst to Lucy, he makes a face from behind her. “Well, maybe I want you for your skills.”

“Because my writing skills are sooo attractive.”

“I meant your ability to kick ass.”

“That was just a simple lock.”

“It got your point across.”

“That was the point of it.”

Then a comfortable silence falls over them. Natsu lays his head back, closing his eyes. “I’m gonna text you every day,” he says. “Maybe I’ll call at least once a day.”

“You’ll only be gone for a week. Just seven days.”

“It’ll be seven days without you,” he corrects.

“There have been some days we haven’t seen each other before.”

“Not a week’s worth.”

“It’ll fly by before you know it. You’ll be distracted by all the sights in Paris anyways.”

“Even the beauty of the city won’t be enough to distract me…” he sighs dramatically. 

Lucy’s cheeks pink a little bit. “What about the food?”

“Won’t be nearly as tasty as you…” Then he leans forward to lick her cheek as an extra measure. 

With a red face, she wipes her cheek clean. “The sounds?”

“They won’t compare to you…” A sly grin on his face, he tickles her sides a little. 

She laughs. “Y-you’re such a weirdo.”

“But I’m your weirdo.”

She smiles softly. “Yeah, you’re my weirdo…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Y’all got a chapter earlier than Monday since I work on Monday. I literally got home from work today and wrote out this entire chapter to post it early! Anyways, I love aquariums. Love. So, of course, I made NaLu go to one! Oh, and the novel idea Lucy came up with is another original work of mine. That’s about all I have figured out for it as of now XD I’m still waiting on names to come to me :P
> 
> PS. The Cerulean Aquarium is based on the Newport Aquarium! After writing this chapter (that I’ve been wanting and waiting to happen), I wanna go baaack!!


	50. Chapter 50

Friday evening, Lucy is over at the Dragneel’s house. She is in the family room with Natsu and Wendy while Igneel and Grandeeney are upstairs. The married couple is finalizing packing for tomorrow.

“All you have to do is make sure that they have food and water,” Wendy explains. “Simple enough!”

“Keeping ’em company won’t be so bad either,” Natsu adds. “Besides, they obviously like you.”

“What makes you say that?” Lucy asks sarcastically. Happy is curled up on her lap while Carla is leaning against her left thigh. Both of them are purring contently as she pets each of them with a hand.

Wendy smiles. “I’m really glad that they get along with you.”

Natsu nods in agreement. “Well, why wouldn’t somebody get along with Luce? She’s great!”

Now it is Lucy’s turn to smile. “I’m not all that great.”

Suddenly, Wendy’s phone ringtone starts going off. “Oh, I thought this was on mute!” She takes it out of a back pocket and looks at the screen. “I’m going to take this.” After holding her phone up to her ear, she starts walking away. “Hey, Chelia!”

“Is there anything else you should know about the house or cats?” Natsu questions.

Lucy starts counting off her fingers. “I have a house key. I know the security code. I know where the food is for Happy and Carla. Not to mention I know where their treats and toys are…” She pauses for a moment before resuming petting the purring cats. “I think I’m all set.”

Then Natsu plops down on the couch next to Lucy on her right side. He glances back and forth between her hands before looking at her. “Too bad you don’t have a third hand for me to hold.”

She laughs. “If only.”

“Or, you know, if only they would leave you alone so I wouldn’t hafta share you…” he pouts.

“If only you didn’t bring me here in the first place,” she sasses.

“Hey, I brought you here for Wendy’s birthday and to meet my family.”

“It turned into the cats liking me the most of you and your family.”

“As if they can compete with my love for you,” Natsu scoffs.

“I don’t know about that.” She glances down at the cats before looking back at her boyfriend. “They purr when I pet them. You don’t.”

He laughs. “Is that a deal breaker for you when it comes to our relationship?”

“I’m surprised that you haven’t figured that out by now,” Lucy teases.

“There’s _always ___something with you.”

She playfully sticks her tongue out at him.

“Okay, but I should be the one getting attention from you,” Natsu points out. “They getta see you for a whole week while I’m gone. I gotta charge up before leaving.”

“You’re clearly going to have to fight them for me.”

“Challenge accepted.” With ease, Natsu picks up Happy and places him on the floor as the feline meows in protest. By the time he has his hands under Carla to lift her up, she hops down onto the floor. When Carla starts leaving the room, Happy goes after her.

“Well, that was easy,” Lucy comments.

Then Natsu lays his head down her lap, snuggling up to her and moving his legs onto the couch. When Lucy starts running her fingers through his locks, he obnoxiously purrs.

She cracks up, stopping what she is doing with her hands. “A-all right, you c-can’t do that. It’s weird. Like, really weird.”

“It makes sense since I’m your weirdo,” he jokes, ceasing his purring.

“Yeah, my weirdo,” she agrees, going back to working her magic touch through his hair. There have been times that Natsu has fallen asleep because he has become so relaxed. When that happens, Lucy just takes out her phone and reads a digital book.

“Hey, when I get back, what do you wanna do?” he asks. “It’ll be the first, and that’s our two month anniversary.”

“I think just spending time together will be nice,” she replies honestly.

“But napping together on the couch and going out to dinner are two different things.”

“Who says we can do both?”

“Dinner and then napping off our food comas sounds like a better order.”

“And over dinner, you can tell me all about your adventures in France.” Lucy grins a little bit, booping the tip of his nose. “No getting into too much trouble while you’re over there.”

“Not my fault if trouble finds me,” he teases.

“Then you better ignore it if it does.”

“And if that doesn’t work, I’ll kick its ass!”

She rolls her eyes.

Natsu peeks an eye open to look at her. “Or, you know, I’ll do what you did at the Aquarium.”

Some videos from what happened with Lucy, Natsu, and Nathan at the Cerulean Aquarium have since gone viral. They circulated even more when people made the connection about who Lucy and Natsu are. Most people leaving comments are applauding her for standing up to Nathan. Other mock Nathan for getting beat up by a girl.

“Maybe I should give you lessons before you leave.”

Both of his eyes open up now, eagerness clearly written all over his face. He opens his mouth to speak.

“No,” Lucy says. “And before you ask, I’m not going to ask Capricorn to teach you.”

“But I won’t abuse my powers,” he whines.

“Powers?” she snorts. “It’s self defense.”

“It’s awesome,” he corrects.

**x-X-x ******

By now, Lucy and Natsu are standing outside on the front porch. It is time for them to say goodbye.

“A week will pass by faster than we think,” he says. “Just like blinking.”

“Just who are you trying to assure with that piece of information?” she asks. “You or me?”

“You. But probably me. Most definitely me.”

Lucy sobers up a little bit to be serious for a moment. “I want you to have fun though. You shouldn’t be thinking when you’ll get to see me again, all right? You’ll be with your family, and I want everyone to have a good time.”

He smiles down at her. “We always do. But this year, I have somebody to come back to.”

“I’m sure that Happy will be super happy to see you, too,” she teases.

Natsu wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her in. “I’ll have two somebodies then.”

“Lucky you.”

Then he leans in for a chaste kiss on the lips. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

**x-X-x ******

The next morning, time seems to be going by so slowly. Lucy has tried tricking herself into thinking that Natsu isn’t thousands of miles away from her. In another time zone. Out of the country. She wants to think that he isn’t around because he has some shoot the first half of the day and then he has to deliver pizzas for the rest of the day. However, she knows better.

“Lucy, he’ll be back in a week,” she tells herself as she paces inside of her family room. “You have all the time in the world to write.” But she doesn’t want to write alone. She wants to have Natsu napping on the same couch as her while she is writing on her laptop. When she is debating between things or even names, she can always ask him what he thinks.

There is a knock on the door. 

Lucy freezes in place and looks towards it. No one has texted her saying they are coming over. She has no reason to expect any company. “Coming!” After taking a step forward, she stops in place to look down at herself. She is still wearing the pajamas she slept in.

Then she shakes her head. So what if she is still in her pajamas and it’s after ten in the morning? This is her apartment and she will answer the door dressed however she pleases. After walking across the room, Lucy unlocks the door and opens it.

The first thing she notices is a bouquet of pink roses wrapped up in blue paper. Behind them is a deliver guy.

“These are for Lucy,” he says with a smile.

“I’m Lucy,” she says rather lamely.

The guy hands the roses to her and takes out a device for her to sign. After the quick exchange, the guy says goodbye and walks away.

Lucy is left in a slight daze. All while looking down at the roses, she goes back into her apartment and closes the door behind her. She notices a note, grabs it, and opens it to read it.

_Luce - I’ll see you in a week! Don’t have too much fun while I’m gone :P ___

There is no name to indicate who the roses are from, but that doesn’t matter. Lucy already knows. She smiles. “You’re such a sweet boyfriend, you weirdo…”

Then she gets to work on arranging the roses in a vase and filing it with water. She puts the vase on top of the coffee table in the family room. That way, she can look at it while writing. And speaking of writing, she needs to get on that. The stories in her head aren’t going write themselves.

Just as Lucy is about to sit down on the couch, there is another knock on the door. “Who is it now?” she mumbles to herself, walking over to it. When Lucy opens it, her face lights up when she sees a familiar face out in the hallway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: CHAPTER 50. OMG. AGAIN, THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A ONE-SHOT. WOW. A big cookie goes to the person who guesses who the character in the hallway is!


	51. Chapter 51

“Cana!” Lucy practically squeals, hitting a rather high octave.

Cana Alberona has wavy dark chocolate brown locks that frame her face and a lovely shade of indigo eyes. Her figure is similar to Lucy’s curvaceous one, but her skin has more of a tan than hers. She is the older and taller one of the two, and they get along like sisters.

She has been away for her summer tour of the USA, and that alone has kept her plenty busy. Lucy had been able to see the very first show that kicked off the tour. A lot has happened since, but they have been able to keep in touch through technology though!

The duo met when Cana, already having her celebrity status as a singer, attended Lucy’s first book signing. They bonded after that and have grown quite close since.

Cana opens her arms out wide, a big smile on her face. “C’mere and give me a hug!”

With a spring in her step, Lucy gladly does.

The two share a warm embrace. Because of Cana, Lucy ends up off of the ground as her feet dangle uselessly. They both are giggling.

“I’ve missed your face so much!” Cana says. Video chat can only go so far.

“Hey, let’s talk inside,” Lucy suggests. People are probably more likely to recognize Cana’s face compared to hers given their audiences. Lucy doesn’t want Cana’s cover blown when it can be avoided. Well, that is if it hasn’t already been blown.

Now back on her feet, Lucy leads the way inside of her apartment and closes the door once Cana is inside. They make their way over to the couch to sit down next to each other.

“Okay, you first,” Cana says. “I see you survived your vacation with the boyfriend.”

Lucy can’t help but smile as some memories play through her mind. “We had a lot of fun. I’m really glad that we went and did what we did.”

Cana waggles her eyebrows. “But did you two do the do?”

“N-not that!” she denies in her flustered state.

That causes Cana to cackle. “Oh, relax. I haven’t either. We’re both virgins so no need to be uncomfortable around each other.”

Lucy facepalms and sighs. “That’s not the point…”

Cana looks over the roses. “I take it they’re from Natsu. Good thing he knows you like pink.”

“They arrived not long before you got here,” Lucy says. “Something to hold me over while he’s in France with his family.

With that, Cana grins. “And when he gets back, I’ll have to meet him.”

“That’s totally the plan even if he doesn’t know it. And he doesn’t even know about you.” There is a framed photo of Lucy and Cana inside of her bedroom. They are wearing big summer hats and big sunglasses, a pool behind them. Lucy will be surprised if Natsu has happened to recognize Cana, but hasn’t said a word about it.

She gasps. “You haven’t told him you’re _bestest ___friends with the Cana Alberona?”

That causes Lucy to giggle. “It’s hard to drop that kind of bomb on someone. You should have seen him when I told him that I’m a Heartfilia.”

Cana whistles. “He’s still sticking around though.”

“Oh, we’re definitely stuck to each other by now.”

“Not even two months with the guy and you’re already head over heels.”

Lucy can’t deny that. “He’s… Natsu. That’s the only way to explain it.”

“You’re a great catch, Lucy. He’s lucky to have you. And you’re happy with him, right?”

She nods.

“Dibs on being your maid of honor.”

“We’ve already agreed on being each other’s maid of honor, remember?”

Cana playfully sticks her tongue out. “But I think I’ll be yours first.”

“We’ll see.” Lucy shifts in place, facing more towards her friend. “All right, enough about me. What about you?”

“So I’ve got news,” Cana says tentatively. “Big news.”

Lucy is curious. “What is it?”

She takes a deep breath. “They found my dad.”

Lucy is more than aware that Cana has been seeking out her birth father. Her single mother, Cornelia, had a one-night stand and that’s all it took for Cana to come around. Cana began searching a few years ago, but the last Lucy knew was there were only dead ends.

“I found out not too long ago, and I planned on telling you in person.” Cana busies herself by digging around in her fuzzy blue purse. She pulls out a folder and takes out a photo from it. “Meet my dad…” She flips over the photo for Lucy to see.

Her eyes grow wide with surprise. “Gildarts?!”

Cana’s smile falters a little bit. “You know him?”

“He’s Natsu’s godfather!” 

After setting the photo and folder onto the nearby table, Cana sits in stunned silence. She is clearly taken aback.

“He travels a lot for his job,” Lucy says, recalling what she can about him. “I’ve only met him once.”

“What’s he like?”

“He’s funny and loud, kind of like Natsu. And speaking of Natsu, he cares for him a lot.” She cracks a smile. “Gildarts is really protective of Natsu, too. He wanted to make sure that I wasn’t taking advantage of him for his looks and money. Natsu ended that when he dropped the mic about me being an author–” She stops mid-sentence when she realizes that she is getting off track. “Gildarts is great. Really. He gives good hugs and I think that’s a bonus about him.” She gives Cana a cheeky smile when a thought occurs to her. “Maybe his drinking game should have given away that he’s your dad.”

Cana playfully shoves Lucy’s shoulder. “Nobody’s better at drinking than me.”

“Maybe you two can drink together and see if he’s better than you.”

“Like father, like daughter…” Cana muses, sitting back on the couch. “Do you think he’ll like me?”

“I’m sure he’ll love having a daughter like you.”

“He doesn’t even know I exist.”

“So tell him. Cana, you’ve come this far. You’ve always talked about the day you found him just so you two could talk.”

“Speaking of that, when you met someone named Gildarts, why didn’t you tell me? You’ve known that’s my dad’s name.”

“Hey, you’re not the only Cana I’ve met.”

“Okay, point taken.”

“Plus, you and your mom didn’t know his last name so that didn’t help me knowing his first name, too.”

“Wait, what’s his last name?”

“Clive. Gildarts Clive.”

Cana smiles a little bit. “I could have been Cana Clive…”

Lucy snuggles up to Cana for comfort cuddles. “Nothing wrong with Cana Alberona…”

She takes a deep breath before exhaling. “So what now?”

“I can try asking Natsu for Gildarts’ number…” Then a thought occurs to Lucy. “On second thought, I’ll ask Wendy. She’ll be the safer route in case Natsu might blab.”

“Would you do that for me?” There is excitement laced in her voice.

“Of course!” Then Lucy smiles at her. “You’re my bestest friend, remember?”

Cana’s eyes start to glass over. “Oh, Lucy!” She hugs her tightly, practically squishing her. “I love you!”

Since her arms are trapped, Lucy just accepts her fate. “I love you, too.”

“You’re the best little sister ever.”

“And you’re the best big sister ever.”

“Because every brunette…”

“… Needs a blonde best friend!”

Do they both have shirts that say that? Totally. And they totally rock them.

“Oh, hey!” Cana suddenly exclaims, digging around for her phone. “Now that we’re reunited, smile for the camera!”

Lucy looks at the phone screen that is displaying them. Snapchat is up, and Cana is definitely holding down the button to record the moment rather than photograph it. “That’s totally a video!” she giggles.

“Guys, this is my bestest friend!” Cana gushes. “Like, my bestest friend ever!”

“That’s me!”

The two are completely being silly, just like how they typically are around one another. They rub off on each other.

When the video runs out of time, Cana posts it to her Snapchat Story and sends it to Lucy as well.

“Do you want me to try texting Wendy for that number now?” Lucy asks.

Cana considers it for a moment. “I think I could use some sister time before even trying to contact my dad, you know?”

“It’s whatever you want, Cana.”

Her eyes light up. “Can we go shopping then?”

“Sure. I’ll need to change though.”

“Hey, if you’re wearing jammies, give me a pair and we’ll rock the look together!”

“I’m not going to stop you if you want to do that, but I’ll pass.”

After untangling themselves, the two stand up and walk into Lucy’s bedroom. Cana heads for the closet and opens it up, looking for something for Lucy to wear. “Since when did you become a tomboy?”

“I’m not… ?” Lucy likes dressing girly, but she has some tomboy moments. Only some though.

“There are definitely guy clothes in here-Ohhh.”

“What?”

Then Cana glances around the rest of the room, looking for other signs. “Did Natsu move in with you?”

Lucy shakes her head. “He’s moved some clothes of his into my closet. Some of his things are scattered here and there, but he hasn’t moved in with me. Not officially anyways.”

“Do you want him to?”

“Yes, but is it weird?”

“Why would it be weird? You two are _dating ___.”

“We’re closing in on our two month anniversary. Just _two months ___.”

Cana shrugs. “Everybody moves at their own pace. No biggie.” Then a wicked grin appears on her face. “He just better not propose to you on your two month anniversary…”

Lucy’s face heats up from embarrassment. “C-Cana!”

“Hey, I like this for you!” She pulls out a grey tee that in three lines reads “take more risks” in slightly faded, black capital words. “Tuck the front part into a pair of shorts. It’ll be cute.”

“Isn’t the point of wearing your boyfriend’s clothes so he sees you in them?”

Cana holds out the hanger for her to take the tee off of. “If the paparazzi doesn’t find us, I’ll personally take photos of you to send to him.”

Playfully rolling her eyes, Lucy takes the hanger from her. “You better spam him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: I guess I didn’t introduce Cana sooner since I thought this work wasn’t gonna be very long. Then when I decided to add her, I needed a reason for her not appearing for a couple of months :P PS. Lucy and Cana BrOTP for the win!!
> 
> A/N Part 2: For those interested in Elvina: Y’all, I started writing Chapter 30. It’ll either be the last chapter or the second to last chapter. Maybe. Anyways, I feel so close to the end :D Like, my feels. Can handle only handle so much of this. Whew. I think I’ll reach my goal of having all the chapters done by the end of the year! Editing and filling in blanks comes later… One step at a time!! :D #ElvinaHype


	52. Chapter 52

Inside of Magnolia Mall, Lucy and Cana are enjoying their time together. They are leisurely strolling through, going into stores that interest them. At random moments, Cana has been turning them into photo shoots. And right now is one of those moments.

“Cheese super duper hard this time!” Cana instructs with phone aimed at Lucy. She is setting up another shot to take to send to Natsu. So far, he hasn’t texted or called.

Lucy does as she is instructed before sipping her raspberry drink filled with chewy tapioca balls.

“Annnd send!” Then Cana slips her phone away. “I can’t believe that he hasn’t said a single word.”

“He’s probably enjoying his time with his family. They are there for a family vacation after all.”

“Since it’s noon o’clock here, what time is it there?”

Lucy laughs. “Noon o’clock?”

“It’s a thing,” Cana sasses. “But seriously, what time?”

“Add six hours from us.”

“Hm, that’s not a super bad time difference.”

“It could be worse I suppose.”

“Lucy!” a familiar voice calls from up ahead.

She looks away from Cana and her eyes land on Jellal and Erza who happen to be walking towards them. Lucy immediately notices that they are holding hands, but she doesn’t make a comment about it. However, she does make a mental note to text Jellal about it later.

The four stand off to the side to not obstruct people from walking.

“It’s good to see you again,” Erza says with a smile.

“You, too.” Then Lucy looks at the both of them. “You two out together in fact.”

Pink tints Jellal’s cheeks while Erza simply beams.

“I take it that you guys are friends with Lucy,” Cana comments, including herself in the conversation.

“Jellal is my editor and a really good friend while I met Erza through Natsu,” Lucy explains. “And Cana is my bestest friend.”

Cana throws an arm over Lucy’s shoulders. “You got that right.”

As if examining Cana, Erza tilts her head to one side. “Have we met before?”

Cana shakes her head. “Nope.”

“Perhaps you have one of those faces that seems really recognizable,” Erza muses.

Lucy resists the urge to laugh while Cana just grins. They both know that Cana has a highly recognizable face due to her star status. For whatever reason, Erza isn’t connecting the dots. On the other hand, Jellal recognizes Cana, but he is being calm and professional about things. No need for screaming or being overly excited. He gives Lucy a look, as if asking if he should inform Erza about Cana.

She just shrugs in response.

Cana is quick to catch on between their silent exchanges. Then she looks at Erza. “We haven’t met before, but I’m pretty sure that you recognize me. Does Alberona ring any bells?”

“Alberona? What is that–” Erza stops mid-sentence in order to gasp. “Cana Alberona?” she whispers so she isn’t too loud to bring attention to herself.

Crossing her arms under her chest, Cana flashes her a grin. “The one and only.”

Erza looks at Lucy. “You’re friends with her?” Then she realizes the meaning of her words. “Uh, not that there is anything wrong with that.”

“Cana was at my very first book signing,” Lucy says. “That’s how we met.”

“I stuck around after getting my signed copy so we could chat,” Cana continues. “We really clicked and swapped numbers. Been besties ever since!”

“Friendship is a wonderful thing,” Erza comments.

Unbeknownst to Lucy and Cana, Jellal gives Erza’s hand a little squeeze. Even now, he is still thanking Lucy for giving Erza’s his number.

“Hey, don’t let us keep you from your date,” Cana says. “You two kiddos have fun now.”

Erza’s whole face turns pink. “Th-thank you.”

Jellal looks at Lucy. “We’ll be in touch.” Then he looks at Cana and nods. “It was great meeting you.”

“You, too,” she says. 

Erza collects herself, trying to overcome being embarrassed. “I hope you two enjoy the rest of your day.”

“Oh, we will,” Lucy says. “Bye now!”

The four part ways.

“Hey, I’m in the mood for something chocolatey,” Cana announces suddenly.

“To eat or drink?” Lucy asks.

“Both?” There is uncertainty in her voice.

Lucy giggles. “Is that an answer or question?”

“I don’t know. I’m still figuring it out.”

“Well, let’s go to Blue Pegasus then.”

Cana glances around. “We might as well go to the one on the lower floor since we’re already in this part of the mall.”

“Seems doable.”

**x-X-x ******

Now the two are sitting down at a table inside of the Blue Pegasus shop. Despite the beautiful weather outside, Lucy is sipping at a hot chocolate. Cana has a mocha coffee and a chocolate filled pastry.

“Is she still staring?” Cana asks, keeping her eyes on Lucy.

Lucy pretends to look around the room to her left in order to steal a glance at perhaps a twelve-year-old girl. She is sitting at another table with her mother and other adults. However, she isn’t paying attention to anyone at her table. He wide eyed gaze is on Cana. She just so happens to be wearing a shirt with Cana’s face on it.

Then Lucy looks back at Cana and nods. “Totally. I’m surprised that someone sitting by her hasn’t noticed yet.” She sips some more of her drink. “Are you going to do anything about it?”

“I’ve thought about going over there…” Cana admits. “Or see who leaves here first. Like, if we get up before them, I’ll gladly go over and say hi. But if they make the first move, I’ll leave you here to say hi. Regardless of whatever, I’ll probably say hi.”

Lucy smiles. “I’m sure that she’ll love that.”

When it comes down to things, Lucy and Cana are the first to stand up from their table. With their unfinished drinks in hand, they approach the table.

The girl’s mouth drops open.

“Hello,” Lucy greets first, gaining attention from adults.

Cana bends down so she and the girl are better leveled. “Hi.”

“Oh, she can’t speak,” the girl’s aunt says.

That isn’t a problem for Cana. She specifically learned sign language so she could communicate with fans that range from being deaf and mute. She has met deaf fans who love the beats to her songs that they can feel. She has seen videos of videos of her fans signing along to one of her songs. They have touched Cana, and she wants them to know that they have.

After handing off her drink to Lucy, Cana signs a quick hello to the girl.

Her face lights up and she signs hello back.

Lucy’s heart starts to melt.

The girl’s mother is showing signs of happy tears. She knows about Cana because of her daughter and she is fan because she learned sign language for someone like her child.

One of the women takes out her phone to start recording the moment.

“What’s her name?” Lucy asks.

“Lucy,” the mother replies.

Cana smiles and speaks as she signs so the others know what she is saying. “My best friend has the same name.”

The younger Lucy looks up at the older one.

She only smiles and nods.

That causes her to smile back.

Lucy’s mother looks at Cana. “Can I take a picture of the two of you?”

“I’d love that,” she replies.

“This might be silly to ask, but can I post it?”

“Can you do it a couple of hours from now? I’ll be gone from here by then.”

She nods, completely understanding her. “Thank you.”

Then Cana looks at the younger Lucy. “Are you ready for a picture together?”she asks while signing.

Her smile is about as big as can be.

After a quick photo and hugs, Lucy and Cana leave Blue Pegasus to venture into other places at the mall.

“You’re such a good person,” Lucy comments. 

“I’m this way because of my fans,” Cana says. “They’re worth it.”

Lucy playfully bumps her left shoulder into Cana’s right one. “You’re so sappy.”

“You’re the one to talk.” she snorts.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lucy asks, and sips her drink.

“You know exactly wh–”

When Lucy’s ringtone starts going off, she knows that Natsu is the one calling her.

“Who is it?” Cana asks, hoping it is one person in particular.

“Natsu,” she replies while taking out her phone.

Her eyes light up with excitement. “Ooo, answers it!”

The two stop off to the side, and when Lucy answers the call, she is casual about it all. “Hello, Natsu!”

Cana leans in towards Lucy’s left ear where her phone is. She wants to be involved and know what is being said.

“What’s going on?” Natsu questions without hesitation. “Who did you give my number to? Why are they only sending me billions of photos of you and nothing else?”

“Oh, so you _are ___getting the photos,” she comments, completely ignoring his inquires.

“Dad took away my phone so I couldn’t contact you,” Natsu explains even though he doesn’t have to. “He wanted me to focus on family time rather than checking up on you.”

“I bet that he didn’t have to take away Wendy’s phone,” she snickers. 

“That’s not the point. And hey, for the record, I’m not complaining about the photos.”

“Oh, you’re not?”

“You look…” But his voice trails off.

“I look what?” Lucy prompts. She just wants to hear him say something about the tee that she is wearing.

“Why haven’t you worn my clothes before?” he asks in all seriousness. “You look good in ’em. Ten outta ten. Cute as fuck.”

Lucy giggles. “My friend had the idea that I could wear something of yours.”

“The same friend that has been texting me?”

“Yes.”

“Who?”

“A friend of mine.”

Cana shoots her a wink, obviously aware that Lucy means her.

“Who?” Natsu asks again.

“Someone you haven’t met before,” Lucy teases.

“So when do I getta meet ’em?”

“When you get back from Paris.”

“I get Luce time first before meeting this said friend, okay?”

“Maybe,” she teases.

“Luce time first or I don’t meet ’em.”

“What kind of deal is that?”

“A Dragneel kinda deal.”

She giggles. “That sounds more like a Dorkneel sort of deal.”

He chuckles. “Maybe that’s why you find me so charming.”

“Clearly.”

Cana can’t help, but laugh at them. “You two are such dorks. I love it.”

“Hey, who was that?” Natsu asks.

“My friend,” Lucy replies.

“I dunno if I recognize her or not.”

“That’s not the point.”

“The real point is” Cana begins to cackle, “that I’m the one hanging out with your girlfriend and not you.”

“That’s because I’m on a total other continent!” Natsu argues.

“Sounds like a personal problem,” Cana teases.

“I’ll show you a personal problem!”

“Hey, easy does it now,” Lucy says, feeling like a referee.

“She’s questioning my love for you!” Natsu says.

Cana laughs. “No, I wasn’t.”

“Luce, how are you friends with her?” Natsu whines. “She’s… insufferable!”

“I must be rubbing off on you if you used that kind of word,” Lucy jokes.

Suddenly, Cana gasps under her breath. “Hey, looks like we got company.”

Lucy follows her gaze to find a group of incoming paparazzi.

“Looks like we’ve been found out,” Cana says.

“We? You’re the famous one here.”

“Hey, you’re a celebrity, too.”

“Luce, what’s going on?” Natsu asks, needing to know if he needs to be worrying about her or not.

“You’re more famous than me.”

“You’ve surfaced in the news more recently, Miss Kidnapped Girl.”

“That’s a thing of the past.”

Natsu tries again, raising his voice a little in order to reach his girlfriend. “Luce, what’s happening?”

“Oh, uh, nothing too bad,” Lucy finally answers. “It could be worse.”

“What?”

“How about I call you later?”

“Text me before you do, okay?”

“Will do.”

“I love you, Luce.”

She smiles. “I love you, too.” When Lucy puts away her phone, she looks at Cana. “So what now?”

“Well, there are a couple of ways to go about this.”

“Like… ?” Lucy prompts.

“We could high tail it on out of here. Or ignore them. Or pose for them.”

Lucy laughs. “That last idea seems like you.”

“And it’ll be even better with you…” Cana hints.

“Let’s rock it for them!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N 1: From where I live, Paris is 6 hours ahead of me. To keep things easy, there’s that time difference for NaLu :P And I decided to add in some Jerza since I wanted Lucy to run into people she knows! 
> 
> A/N Part 2: Not related to CAF at all, but a personal thing that still gives me fuzzy feels. My fiancé surprised me at work the other day. Sneaked in the back door and told my boss not to say anything (I had headphones on and didn’t hear anything). I see movement to my right side and look over to find him there. Without saying a word, he holds out a pretty bouquet of roses (which he specified no pink so I’m not the biggest fan of that color). When I take them, he goes into his bookbag and pulls out Pocky and Hello Panda, faves of mine. To top that all off, he takes out a package of fried chicken. Because I f-ing love fried chicken. #TrueLove
> 
> A/N Part 3: Another personal thing, I finished my first complete draft of Elvina!! Specifically at 2:42 am on Nov 28. At 12-point Times New Roman Font and single spacing, it’s 195 pages as of now. Did I squeal when I realized what I had done? Absolutely. So far I’ve done a read through up to Chapter 4. Gotta make it up to 30 and make small changes here and there as I please :P The Elvina hype is so real right now for me!!


	53. Chapter 53

Did Lucy and Cana rock it for the paparazzi? Absolutely. In fact, Cana wants the photos herself. Well, at least digital copies. She knows that they’ll pop up given time.

But for now, the duo has since lost the paparazzi and is chilling inside of Vermillion. At the moment, Cana is posing by copies of _Elvina ___and taking selfies by them. She plans on posting the right one to Snapchat. Meanwhile, Lucy is looking over books.

“Hey, I can’t get this the way I want it,” Cana says, looking at Lucy.

Lucy turns her head to look at her. Only now does she see what her bestie is up to. She laughs. “You’re ridiculous.”

Completely ignoring her comment, Cana holds out her phone. “Can you take it for me?”

“First you have the paparazzi photograph us and now you want me take a picture of you.”

“What can I say? I’m having a good hair day and the world needs to know. So pleaseee?”

“Only because you asked so nicely.” So Lucy steps over and takes the phone, switching which way the camera is facing. “All right, I’m ready whenever you are.”

Cana dramatically gestures with her hands at the books, a big smile on her face.

Trying her best not to laugh and cause camera shake, Lucy snaps a photo. Then she holds out Cana’s phone for her to see.

“That’s perfect!” She takes her phone back. “Thanks, Lucy.”

“If you ever publish a book, remind me to do what you just did.”

“Pfft, as if I’ll have the patience for that. I’d rather spend my time writing songs instead.” Then Cana busies herself with writing a little comment before posting it to her Snapchat Story.

“Fine, you can stick to writing songs while I write books,” Lucy teases.

“Sounds like a plan!”

Suddenly, a squeal of delight causes Lucy and Cana to look towards the source.

Peeking around a shelf, Millianna has her eyes set on Lucy. Even down to the cat bell choker, she hasn’t changed at all since the last time. “Ashley! Er, Lucy! Oh, whichever works best for you, hi!”

Lucy weakly smiles back. “Oh, it’s you.” There is a lack of enthusiasm in her voice. Of course, she remembers the last time she ran into Millianna. That was the same day she met Gray and Juvia.

“Can I have a hug?” Without waiting for Lucy to even reply, Millianna is already heading right for her.

Cana stands between Lucy and Millianna. She knows that something is up due to Lucy’s reaction. Not that she can blame her. She saw the video that Millianna had posted about _Elvina ___and Lucy’s crush. The interview somewhat turned into an interrogation.

Millianna comes to a stop, tilting her head. “Hi there. I’m–”

“I know who you are,” Cana interrupts, not caring if she is rude or not. “I follow your blog.”

She smiles. “It’s always nice to meet a fan of it!”

Cana never said that, but she doesn’t correct Millianna. “Look, she’s not in the mood for another interview.”

In fact, Lucy isn’t in the mood to be interviewed by Millianna again.

“Who said anything about an interview?” Millianna asks, feigning innocence. “I totally wasn’t going to ask what it was liked getting kidnapped by a crazy person. Or, you know, if she’ll write a book based on that experience.”

Lucy rolls her eyes. She wants everything with Daphne to be a thing of the past. That whole experience hadn’t been a great part of her life.

Cana makes a shooing motion at Millianna. “Now run along.”

Millianna pouts. “How come you get to spend time with Ashley and I don’t?”

“Because I’m her bestie.”

“Ooo, a bestie of Ashley!” Then Millianna frowns a little bit. “I don’t know if she’s mentioned you are not. Who are you by the way?”

Cana blinks. It isn’t often that she comes across someone who doesn’t know her. It can be such a relief at times. Then she can just be a normal person.

“Cana, we might as well go,” Lucy voices. “I can come back another time.”

But Cana wants them to stand their ground. She doesn’t want Lucy wanting to leave all because of a person. She wants Lucy to want to leave on her own accord. “Are you sure?” Cana asks, facing Lucy.

She puts on her best smile. “We can do other things.”

Millianna’s face lights up. “Can I tag along?”

Cana wastes no time turning towards her again and shutting her down. “No.”

Frowning, Millianna clasps her hands in front of her. “Please?”

Not wasting her breath, Cana walks towards Lucy, takes her by the arm, and walks away with her.

“H-hey!” Millianna protests.

“Don’t look back,” Cana instructs under her breath. “If we ignore her, she shouldn’t bother us.”

“And if she comes after us?” Lucy asks, wondering if Millianna will do something like that.

“I’ll get security. I don’t play around with things like this. You see, I have a line. And if a fan crosses it, I deal with them accordingly.”

“But Millianna doesn’t even know who you are,” Lucy points out. “She was interested in me.”

“Yeah, but she was messing with my bestie. That’s an even _bigger ___line of mine.”

Lucy can’t stop the smile forming on her face. “Thanks, Cana.”

She shoots Lucy a grin. “Besides, the only person who can mess with you is me. That position has been filled.”

Now that gets Lucy to crack up. “I think you might have some competition with Natsu.”

“Well, you loved me first so I win.”

**x-X-x ******

As of now, the duo is back at Lucy’s apartment. The mood is somewhat sober.

“Lucy, are you sure I can do this?” Cana asks.

She nods. “I believe in you. So you can do it.”

Having gotten Gildarts’ number from Wendy, Cana now has it in her phone. All she has to do is press one button to call her father.

When Cana doesn’t say anything, Lucy speaks up. “Cana, you can only stall for so long. You’ve been waiting for this moment.”

With new found determination, Cana stands up from the couch and clutches her phone with both hands. “Can I use your bedroom? When I’m on the phone, I either like walking around or lying on a bed. There’s no in between.”

“Go for it.” Then she sends an assuring smile Cana’s way. “Don’t forget, I believe in you.”

After nodding, Cana leaves the family room.

While she waits, Lucy decides to take out her phone to text Natsu.

_Lucy: Is it all right to call you? ___

Moment later, she is receiving a call from him. “Hey, Natsu,” she answers.

“Hiya! Did you have fun with your friend earlier?”

“Some trouble found us and we handled it. No biggie since we’re tough. And then Millianna found us and–” She stops mid-sentence when something crosses her mind. “Oh, my gosh! What time is it for you? I didn’t even look at the clock–”

His laughter cuts her off. “You’re fine, Luce. Not even ten o’clock here.

“That’s not too bad I guess.” To get comfortable, Lucy brings her legs up onto the couch. “So what do you think of Paris?”

“I forgot how good the food is here.” The smile in his voice can be heard.

“You would talk about the food.”

“I mean, everything would be better if you were here with me.”

“Hey, this is your family time. You’ll get Luce time later.”

“Maybe one of these times I’ll take you to Paris with me.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

“Promise?”

A smile forms on Lucy’s lips. “Promise.”

“Good! Just keep your passport updated.”

She playfully rolls her eyes. “I’ll make sure to do that.”

“I’m serious.”

“I know.”

“Oh, and remind me to have an important chat with your old man before we take that romantic trip to Paris, ’kay?”

Pink tints her cheeks. For once, she is glad that she is talking to Natsu over the phone rather than in person. “N-Natsu!”

He cackles. “Just kidding! You’re never gonna know when I have _that ___chat with your dad.”

Lucy puffs her cheeks out. “Well, maybe I’ll just tell you no when you pop me the question.”

He dramatically gasps. “How could you?”

“Someone has to put you in your place.”

“Eh, better you than somebody else.”

She laughs a little bit. “You’re saying that now, but give it time.”

“I doubt somebody could replace you. Ever.”

“You’re sweet.”

“I wasn’t this sappy before dating you.”

“Those pajamas of mine must have sucked you right in when we first met.”

Natsu laughs. “That’s definitely what did it for me. Not the review you left for me.”

“Definitely,” she teases.

From the other end line, Lucy hears a voice in the background.

“Hey, I’ve been good about things so far!” Natsu argues. “I didn’t get talk to her for long earlier!”

Lucy can only guess that Natsu is being asked to hang up.

With a defeated sigh, Natsu gets back to talking to his girlfriend. “Hey, Luce?”

“I take it that you have to go.”

“Yeah. We have an early start tomorrow. And jet lag is a thing.”

“Well, sleep tight and have sweet dreams.”

“They’ll definitely be sweet if you’re there.”

“Just imagine us in Paris.”

“I’m already looking forward to that trip.” The smile in his voice isn’t missed. “But until then, I guess I’ll dream about it.”

“ _Je t’aime ___,” Lucy says in her best French accent.

“ _Je t’aime avec le pouvoir d’un millions de soleils qui explosent dans un supernova de chatons et d’arc-en-ciels ___."

She laughs. “Show off.”

“Only for you. But anyways, I gotta get going. Night, Luce. Sleep tight.”

“Bye, Natsu.” All while smiling, Lucy lowers her phone and holds it in her right hand. She can’t wait to see him in person again. At least the wait will only be a week long.

By the time Cana enters the family room, Lucy is scrolling through Tumblr on her phone. “H-hey, Luce…” she says in a shaky voice.

With one look from Lucy, she can tell that her bestie has been crying. There is no hiding her. Her heart drops. “Cana…”

“He… he wants t-to meet me.” Cana cries more happy tears. “He really wants to me.”

“Cana, that’s great!” Lucy exclaims, standing up from the couch to run over to hug her bestie.

Cana hugs back. “I’m happy right now.”

“And I’m happy for you.”

The two break apart so they can look at each other.

“So when does Gildarts want to meet you?” Lucy asks.

Cana sniffles back tears. “Now.”

She is smiling from ear to ear now. “That’s great!”

“Can I ask for a huge favor?”

“Whatever you need.” Lucy is more than eager to help out her bestie.

“Can you drive me? I’m a bit shaken up and I don’t want to drive…”

Lucy completely understands. “Let’s put our shoes back on and leave!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I didn’t plan on bringing back Millianna, but it seemed like a decent fit. Like a reminder that she’s still around XD No surprise, but next chapter will have Gildarts in it! Other than that, I dunno what’ll happen haha


	54. Chapter 54

Quatro Cerberus is the place Lucy drives Cana to. She parks her car in a free spot and looks over at her bestie. “Do you want me to go in with you?”

Cana only nods, not taking her eyes off of the building.

“Before we get out, take a deep breath,” Lucy instructs.

Cana does so, and keeps holding until her face starts to turn a different color. 

“Don’t forget to actually breathe!” Lucy reminds her. 

In order to refill her lungs, Cana sucks in air through her mouth. “O-kay. I can do this. I can totally do this…” 

When the two get out of the car, Lucy locks it behind them. “Does Gildarts know who he is looking for?” she asks.

“I told him my first and last name. I don’t know if he knows about me.”

“One would assume that someone would recognize Cana Alberona…”

Cana laughs a little bit. “Tell that to your redhead friend.”

“Erza can be like that sometimes,” Lucy jokes, opening a door for them. 

Once inside, Lucy is the first to spot Gildarts, recognizing the back of him. He is sitting up at the bar, a nearly empty drink in hand. He is probably trying to calm his nerves.

“Do you see him?” Cana asks, her eyes scanning the place.

“He’s over there,” Lucy responds, pointing a finger at him.

Cana stiffens up from head to toe, sucking in air.

Lucy nudges her along. “You can do this. I’ll be right over there if you need me.” With one final shove, she takes a step back so her bestie can do the rest on her own.

Walking rather stiffly, Cana makes her way over to Gildarts. He is completely oblivious that she is behind him until she taps on his back with a single finger.

Wanting to watch their interaction, Lucy sits at a free table far enough away so that she totally isn’t encroaching on the duo.

Gildarts turns on his seat to face Cana.

“H-hey,” she accidentally stutters.

He opens his mouth, but nothing comes out.

“I guess it’s hard to believe, huh?”

Then Gildarts starts panicking, jumping to his feet. “Wait, which one is your mother? Sarah? Naomi? Clara? Feena? Mary? Liza?” He groans. “Oh, no! The hair color is all wrong! Emma? Lila? Jenny? Sydney? Kate? The Yugo sisters?”

“Sisters?” Cana gasps, not bothering to keep her shock under control. “Just how many women have you been with?”

“No, Sylvia! That’s gotta be it. It’s that face. She made it a lot.”

“Seriously? I finally find you only to realize my dad is a deadbeat who can’t keep it in his pants!”

Suddenly, things click into place for Gildarts. His entire demeanor changes in an instant. He looks at her with a soft expression. “You’re Cornelia’s daughter. No doubt about it.”

Cana doesn’t vocally confirm, but her silence is more than enough.

“I had a daughter all this time…” he says, his voice cracking. “Wow.”

“Hey now, there’s no need for waterworks.” Then she smiles a little bit. “Can I finally say it?”

Gildarts is a little confused. “Say what?”

Her smile gets bigger. “I’m glad I met you, Dad. I really am.”

It doesn’t take long for him to burst into tears. “Baby!” he exclaims, engulfing her in a hug. “I promise I’ll never make you feel sad again. I’ll always be here for you. I’ll be right by your side. It doesn’t matter whether it’s on a job or hitting up the bars.”

“I’m not so sure you can keep up with me,” she jokes, sniffling back some tears.

“All that I ask is that you give me the opportunity to be a loving father,” Gildarts adds, his tears falling as they form.

Lucy has to wipe away small tears threatening to fall down her cheeks. A loving father. Maybe she should go see hers again. After all, it seems like it has been awhile since their last brunch.

She only snaps back into reality when someone sits across from her. 

“Hello, Lu Lu!” Dan greets in a cheery tone.

“What are you doing here?” Lucy deadpans, her mood turning sour.

Dan motions in a direction past him. “I’m here with friends, but then I saw you and decided to come over.”

“You should go back to your friends.”

“Not until we get a drink together.”

“I’m not here to drink.”

Dan blinks in surprise. “But… you’re at a bar. You’re supposed to drink when you’re at a bar.”

Lucy reasons that she shouldn’t have to explain herself to him. He is a thing of the past that seems to be popping up. The last time she saw him was at the mall with Natsu, Gray, and Juvia. The same day she and Natsu official became a couple. “Like I said, I’m not here to drink.”

“Well then, do you want to eat together?”

“Pass.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Wait, yes that you’ll grab a bite with me?”

One of her eyes twitches. He is trying to twist her words, but she won’t let him have his way. “No, yes that I won’t eat with you. I’m not here for you.” Her eyes flicker over to Gildarts and Cana, finding they are both sitting down at the bar now. They might as well be oblivious to everything else around them.

“But, Lu Lu!” Dan protests in a whiney tone.

“The only reason we know each other is because we had classes together,” she huffs. “That’s it. We didn’t even see each other outside of school.”

“That’s not true. I saw you at the mall a few times with friends.”

Lucy rolls her eyes. “But you never approached me. We never hung out as friends or even acquaintances.”

“So let’s change that!”

“There is no us,” she clarifies, putting her foot down.

“But what if there was?”

“I’m not dating someone I don’t know.”

“What if you give me a chance?”

“I’m not interested,” Lucy deadpans, really getting fed up with his relentlessness. “I’m more than happy with the relationship I’m currently in. You might remember him from the last time at the mall. I’m still dating Natsu.”

Dan opens his mouth to respond, but he doesn’t get the chance to. 

A hand comes down on the table.

Lucy jumps a little bit, being startled. She relaxes when she sees the hand connects to the rest of Gildarts.

“From the sound of things, you’re bothering her,” he grits.

Dan swallows hard. “Oh, do you know Lu Lu?” he asks, pretending that Gildarts isn’t getting to him.

Gildarts stands a little taller. “She’s going to marry my godson. That makes us related in my book.” His gaze hardens. “And nobody messes with my family.”

Cana stands next to her father, arms folded under her chest in an intimidating fashion. “She’s my bestie, and I’m the only one allowed to mess with her. End of story.”

Realizing the odds are against him, Dan rushes to leave the table. He doesn’t look back while making his way over his friends at the other side of the bar.

“Lucy, are you okay?” Cana asks, turning her attention to her.

“I’m fine,” she replies. “That guy just can’t take no for an answer.”

“How does he know you?” Gildarts asks.

“School. We only had some classes together. Some. We never really interacted, but apparently he has this gigantic crush on me. It’s bordering creepy since he doesn’t back off easily.”

Cana cracks up. “He doesn’t stand a chance.”

Gildarts nods in agreement. “Not when Natsu is his competition.”

“Exactly,” Lucy agrees, and then realizes something. “Ah, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to interrupt your moment by you two saving me from Dan.”

“Nah, you’re fine,” Cana says. “We were talking when I brought up you and mentioned you were here. When we spotted you, we found him with you.”

“You looked like you were about to clock him,” Gildarts chuckles.

Lucy huffs. “I probably should have…”

“I bet Natsu would have liked to see that,” Gildarts jokes. 

Cana nudges him with a shoulder. “Violence isn’t the answer.”

“It can be. Sometimes. Given the question.”

Lucy rolls her eyes. “That sounds like something Natsu might say.”

Gildarts grins. “Where do you think he gets it from?”

“Wait, is there a chance he could be your kid?” Cana inquires. “Lucy has mentioned that he’s adopted…”

Gildarts pales. “I’m good with being the biological old man of one kid…”

“She’s a pretty great kid, too,” Lucy comments.

Cana playfully punches Lucy’s shoulder. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

“Just wait until you two have kids of your own.” Then Gildarts does a double take at Cana. “Wait, do you have kids of your own? I haven’t seen anything in the news about you, but you could have some secret kid the world doesn’t know about.”

Cana cracks up at where his mind took his thoughts. “No, no kid. Not even dating anyone. I’m too busy for that. I’ve got time to settle down.”

Lucy’s mind wanders, thinking about when she and Natsu will settle down. They are approaching their two month anniversary and marriage has already been discussed. She is more than positive he is the one for her. Likewise, she knows that he feels the same way about her.

Gildarts puts a hand on a shoulder of both Lucy and Cana. “So what are you two up to? Got some time to spend with me?”

“You’ve got all the time in the world with me,” Cana replies.

“I don’t want to impose,” Lucy says.

Gildarts looks at her. “I was hoping you’d have embarrassing moments to share.”

A mischievous look comes across Lucy’s faces. “Well, now that you mention it…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: I guess since Natsu is gone, people Lucy has encountered before are showing up XD Like Millianna, Dan seemed like a good fit for this chapter :P I wonder who else will pop up haha
> 
> A/N Part 2: When it comes to the next update, I’ll see when I can get to it! Next Sun-Mon is Christmas Day and the day after, so I’m gonna be busy with personal/family stuff. I’d love to update for you guys then, but no promises D: If not, it might come some days later… 
> 
> A/N Part 3: So if the update is late… Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays :D And if you don’t celebrate, I hope the end of December treats y’all well :D *throws confetti*


	55. Chapter 55

The next morning, Lucy is using her laptop to write with. Well, more like attempting to write. She is trying to work though a little case of writer’s block. Lying on her back with her limbs sprawled out is part of the process.

It started off with her reading some online article and coming across someone with the last name of Fairchild. That alone sparked another idea. Originally, Lucy had been writing to get the idea out of her system. Now it is something bigger…

To get through her writer’s block, she is talking out loud to herself. “So his real name is Dominic, and Eve knows that, but everyone else calls him Nic. He goes by that so everyone just assumes his real name is some form of Nicholas.” She snorts when an idea comes to mind. “Then when the others find out about his real name, the two jokesters can mess with Dominic. Call him nicknames.”

With some nicknames already coming to mind, Lucy flips over and types on her laptop. “Not Nic. N Squared. Double N.” She smiles a little bit at the next one. “Double N Seven. Oh man, I need to get Natsu’s approval on these.”

Then she flips back over to stare up at the ceiling. “As for Eve Fairchild and Dominic Castillo, I don’t want the typical girl meets new boy and he’s the reason her world gets changed upside down…” She gives it a minute for the gears in her mind to start cranking. “They dated in high school. Throughout high school. And the summer after graduation, they break up. Dominic says it’s because he’s going to study overseas.” Lucy is fine with using that as an excuse because she knows about his ulterior motive.

Once again, Lucy flips over to type more. Then she keeps typing while talking. “In present day time, Eve is living on her own. Studio apartment. Has a job, but is on vacation since she takes a vacation week during her birthday week.” She reasons that makes sense because she knows what will happen to Eve. And maybe that way she can avoid stating what Eve does for a living unless she comes up with a job.

Of course, Lucy keeps working things out. The universe will be the modern day world with a form of magical twist. Magic users will have one of the four elements for their powers. Prophecies on stone tablets will be a thing, too. There are different organizations over the world with the same goal of stopping the bad prophecies. It is like they are doomsday stoppers. However, all of that is hidden and kept secret from the rest of the world that isn’t involved with it.

Eve is forced into it when she is believed to be a person from a particular prophecy. One about a fair child who will be the source of chaos and destruction. It is ironic since Eve’s last name is Fairchild. On top of that, Eve deals with being reunited with Dominic. He might be one to stop terrible prophecies from happening, but he refuses to accept what some others believe about her.

Lucy is only pulled away from her thoughts when her nearby cell phone starts going off. Someone is requesting a video chat. When she looks at the name on the screen her eyes light up. “Natsu!” Bolting into a sitting position, she quickly fixes her hair before accepting the call.

Natsu’s smiling face appears on the screen. “Hiya, Luce!” 

“Hey,” she responds in a sweet tone. “How’s Paris treating you?”

“Been good so far. Still more to do until I get back home. What about you? What are you up to?”

“I’m writing.”

He cracks a smile. “I should have guessed that. Which work?”

“A new one.”

“You’ve had a lot of those recently.”

“No, this is a newly new one. Like, this morning new.”

“Oh, wow! I bet you’re just cranking through it, huh?”

“For the most part. I got past a bit of writer’s block. Some things are coming together though.”

“That’s great to hear.”

“And I’ll run some things by you later when you’re home.”

“I’m already looking forward to it.” Natsu smiles some more. “And I’m looking forward to being back with you.”

“I want you to enjoy your time in Paris in the meantime, all right? We don’t need you focusing on how much you miss me.”

“I know that, but your face is something to miss.”

Lucy playfully sticks her tongue out. “You’re looking at it right now.”

“Yeah, but I can’t kiss it now.”

“Hm, that is a valid point...” Then she points to her right cheek with a finger. “See this spot here?”

He nods. “Yeah.”

“I’ll reserve it just for you for when you get back.”

“Whoa, I want alllll”-he uses a finger to motion to all of his face in circular motion-“of your real estate.”

That gets a laugh out of her. “Whatever you say, Mr. Real Estate Agent.”

“They call me Agent Dragneel for a reason.”

“No one calls you that!”

“Uh-huh.”

“Well, maybe Agent Dorkneel,” Lucy teases.

“Nah, doesn’t have the same ring to it.”

“That’s because Agent Dorkneel has a better ring to it.”

“Pfft, whatever you say, Luce.” Then something pops into his mind. “Oh, have you seen Happy and Carla today?”

She shakes her head. “Not yet. I was going to get lunch and eat it over at your house.”

“Is that all you have planned today?”

She shrugs. “I don’t mind having a lazy day. Sometimes it’s good to be lazy.” After all, she had an eventful day yesterday.

“I think I’m rubbing off on you if you’re talking about being laz-Waaait!”

Lucy is surprised by his mini outburst. “What? What’s wrong?”

Natsu’s video becomes blurry from camera movement as he aims the camera at something else. Lucy finds herself looking at a television screen. Some station is showing pictures from the fun she and Cana had with the paparazzi. Of course, she can’t understand the French words. 

“Luce!” The video is blurry once again before Natsu’s face takes over. “What is that all about?” His eyes are elsewhere, looking at the television with his girlfriend and famous singer on it.

She gets right to the point. “She’s my friend from yesterday.”

“You’re besties with Cana Alberona?”

“And that’s not even the crazy part.”

“What could top that?”

A smug smile comes across Lucy’s face. “The father she has been looking for is Gildarts Clive.”

His eyes grow impossibly wide. “Gildarts as in the Gildarts we both know.”

She nods. “What are the odds of that, right? Cana found out recently and showed me a picture. Of course, I recognized Gildarts right away.”

Natsu’s mouth just hangs open for a moment before he finally closes it, shaking his head. “It’s never a dull time around you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Something interesting always seems to be going on wherever you are. Doesn’t matter if you’re at the center of it or it’s happening around you.”

“It also doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad,” she huffs, thinking of her recent-ish event with Daphne.

“Hey, you can’t have one without the other,” he points out. “But normally good things happen around you.”

Lucy smiles. “You’re sweet.”

“You’re the sweet one in this relationship.”

“And you’re the dorky one.”

“You got that right! Ain’t nobody gonna take that title from me.”

“I don’t think that’s something to boast about,” she chuckles.

“Hey, at least I’m not gonna try and snatch your I’m-besties-with-Cana-Alberona title.”

“It’s a great title to have. I love it.”

“How have I not known? I mean, I get that sometimes I can be clueless about things, but still!”

“We met when I had my first signing ever, and we became close after that,” she begins. “By the time we met and started dating, Cana was still on her summer tour. And after you left for France, she was done and popped in for a visit.” 

“Have I just been oblivious to your friendship this entire time?” He is still wrapping his head around it all.

“We normally text each other so it’s not like you overheard a phone call.”

“Good point.”

“Plus, the tour kept her plenty busy.”

“She made time to see you after it though.”

“She always makes time for me,” Lucy corrects. Well, when possible that is.

“Are her and I gonna hafta compete for your affection?”

“Oh, there’s no competition between you two.”

Natsu starts smiling.

“After all, Cana loved me first. Back before you knew I even existed.”

His face completely falls. “Hey back then I knew you as Ashley!”

“Only because of Wendy. That doesn’t count.”

“What about you, hm? You didn’t know about me.”

“You never delivered pizza to my place before. I might now buy clothes from the store you model for, but I’m sure I passed your posters while walking by.”

“Too bad you never had a friend take a picture of you in front of them.” He has seen girls do it before. In fact, he still does.

“I know people who take photos in front of my published books.” Cana is one of them.

“Oo, maybe I should start doing that. Post ’em online to show off my awesome girlfriend.”

“Don’t you dare.”

“Make me.”

Suddenly, a knock on the door interrupts the mood. 

“Company?” Natsu questions. 

Lucy looks over at the door. Whoever is on the other side can just walk on in since the door isn’t locked. “I’m not expecting anyone.”

“Fine, I guess I’ll letcha go.”

“For now,” she adds, looking back at her boyfriend.

He smiles. “For now.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too. Bye!”

The video chat disconnects, and Lucy leaves her phone next to her laptop when she stands up. “Coming!” She walks over to the door and opens it up, noticing a familiar face out in the hallway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Yooo, I had time to work on this chapter and post before my two normal days :D I feel somewhat accomplished :P And look, another person Lucy knows is paying her a visit…
> 
> P.S. That work Lucy is brainstorming on is the current, personal work I’m focusing on. Normally I title books after the main character, but for some reason I’ve been sticking with “The Fair Child” over “Eve” :P And her writing process is what I do at times…
> 
> Happy Holidays!! I hope everyone has a great start to the new year!!


	56. Chapter 56

“Hi, Gray,” Lucy greets. Then she notices his demeanor and body posture. “Gray… ?”

He seems a bit uptight. Shoulders hunched, his hands are thrusted into his pockets. It is like he is trying to make himself smaller than he really is. 

“I thought I could do it on my own,” he begins out of the blue. “But I need help.”

She is always willing to help out a friend. After stepping aside, she gestures for Gray to come inside her apartment. “What kind of help?”

He remains rooted in place. “Juvia.”

Now she is getting a little worried. “Did something happen with Juvia?” Lucy can only hope that they didn’t get into some sort of serious fight.

“No, not yet. I’m still deciding on when.”

“Gray, I have no idea what you’re talking about. You’re, like, speaking in riddles.”

“I want to ask Juvia to marry me.”

That gets Lucy to light up with a big smile.

“I need a ring first,” he continues. “I thought I could shop on my own, but I need help. I was at the mall parking lot, sitting in my car. I couldn’t get out so I came here…” Then Gray awkwardly laughs. “I guess I should have called you first…”

“Give me five minutes to change. I’ll go shopping with you.”

**x-X-x ******

Now Lucy and Gray are standing outside one of the jewelry stores located on the upper level of Magnolia Mall. He might as well be shaking in his boots, tail tucked between his legs.

“You made it out of the car this time, great,” Lucy comments, trying to loosen him up.

“That’s something I guess.” He doesn’t tear his eyes away from the store.

Deciding to take it a step further, she stands in front of Gray to block his line of sight. “Hey, look at me.”

He does without delay.

“You love her, right?”

“More than anything.”

“You love her so much that you want to change her last name, right?”

“Juvia Fullbuster does sound great.”

“And you want to spend the rest of your life with her, right?”

“Until I die.”

“Then let’s go find her a ring.” Lucy grabs a hold of his wrist and leads the way.

They go over to a ring case and look it over. The lighting inside really makes the rings sparkle. It is all quite dazzling.

“There’s… so many,” Gray comments, feeling overwhelmed.

“Because everyone has their own taste, but we’re here to focus on Juvia. So do you know what color of band she’ll like?”

“Silver. And if silver doesn’t work then something that looks like silver. She doesn’t like gold or rose-gold.”

“That’s a start. What about gem color?”

“Uh, diamond. I guess. I never pictured the ring with color.”

“You can’t go wrong with that.”

A man wearing a suit steps up to Lucy and Gray. He has dark hair with round glasses in front of his green eyes. “Have you two been helped out yet?” he asks in an English accent.

“No,” Lucy replies. “My brother and I are looking for an engagement ring for his girlfriend.” She goes with that so they won’t be confused as a couple.

The man directs his attention to Gray. “Oh, that’s wonderful!”

He isn’t sure what else to say besides a quick “thanks” since reality is still setting in. He is shopping for an engagement ring. For Juvia. With Lucy.

“Well, I’m Harry,” the man introduces, and clasps his hands together in front of him. “Is there something specific we are looking for?” 

“Silver band,” Lucy replies. “If that doesn’t work, then something like white-gold or platinum.”

Harry nods. “Keep to that color range, got it. What else?”

“A diamond stone, but as for the cut”-Lucy looks at Gray-“I’m not sure we’re sure about that yet.”

“I can show you different cuts if that helps,” Harry offers.

“That’d be great,” Gray says.

“When it comes to Juvia’s style, she isn’t all that blingy,” Lucy voices.

Gray softly smiles as he pictures her clearly in his mind. “That’s because her personality shines through.”

Lucy nudges Gray with an elbow. “Aren’t you just the sweetest boyfriend ever?”

He looks away, wanting to hide his pink cheeks.

“I’ll keep all of that in mind while showing you rings,” Harry says. “And while we’re here, let’s start with this case.” Then he busies himself with the task of getting behind the counter.

Lucy’s eyes scan over the rings. She skips over the really sparkly and blinged out ones. Juvia is more of a simpler person.

Harry uses a key to unlock the case and reaches inside. “What about this one?” He holds out the ring for Lucy and Gray to look.

It really is pretty. The band is covered in smaller diamonds while three big ones are the center piece.

“That seems a bit much for Juvia,” Gray admits.

Harry puts it back.

Lucy points to one, not touching the glass with her finger. “What about that?”

“Which one?” Harry asks, readying to grab it.

“Third row,” she replies. “Fourth one over.”

After taking it out, Harry gives it to Lucy to hold.

Gray leans over to look at as well.

With a single diamond at the center, the band twists in two parts on either side. On each side, one of the stands has a trail of small diamonds.

“I like the twisting in the band,” Gray comments.

“That’s called a split shank,” Harry says. “There are more styles with that.”

“I like this one more than the first one.” Then Lucy hands the ring over to Harry. “I think sticking with the split shank will be good.”

“I’m with her on that,” Gray adds.

The trio goes through more choices. Now on their third case, options are being narrowed down.

Lucy and Gray both point at the same time. “What about that one?” they ask in unison.

Harry looks back and forth between the two. “Who goes first?”

“Let Gray since I picked the last one,” Lucy replies.

So Harry looks at Gray. “Sir?”

“Second row…” He starts counting the spacing under his breath. “Over seven.”

While Harry retrieves it, Lucy nudges Gray. “That’s the one I was going to pick, too!”

“Really?” he asks. 

She nods. 

Harry holds out the ring for them. The main feature is a round cut diamond. The band doesn’t have any stones, but it splits in three different ways. The split shank detailing really flows together.

“Oo, I like that one!” Lucy gushes. It looks better out of the case.

Harry chuckles, handing it off to Gray to hold. “She has reacted like that before.”

Gray is smiling. “I really like this one, too. Like, I really like it.” Now he is just admiring the ring. He can picture it on Juvia’s finger.

“Gray…” Lucy begins. She is still going to ask the question even though his face says it all.

He looks at her. “Hm?”

“Are you saying yes to the engagement ring?” she asks.

He cracks up. “Yeah, I’m saying yes.”

Lucy starts clapping.

Meanwhile, Harry is smiling away. “Shall I bring up the paper work?”

Without warning, Gray freezes up. He almost drops the ring onto the counter. “I don’t know her ring size…”

“Calm down,” Lucy tells him. “We can figure something out.” Her mind starts racing.

“I can still take down the needed information,” Harry assures him. “You’ll still have to select a diamond. I can have some shipped here and you return another day to look at them. If you don’t like any, I can always have more shipped.”

Gray hands off the ring to Harry just so he doesn’t accidentally drop it. “That’d be great.”

An idea hits Lucy. “Gray, I got it.”

He looks at her. “What?”

“Juvia and I will have a girls only shopping day. I’ll bring her here to get fitted. Wait, no, we’ll both get fitted so she won’t get suspicious. We both have boyfriends so we’ll need to know our ring sizes someday, right?”

“Lucy, you’re a genius,” Gray praises.

She shrugs. “I try.”

Then he cracks a grin. “And maybe Flame Brain will take a hint…”

Pink tints her cheeks. “Don’t you think two months is too soon to be engaged?”

“Love knows no bounds…”

“I’ve had a couple or two get engaged after a month of dating,” Harry says as if to make her feel better.

Lucy is surprised. “All right, a month seems crazy.”

“So two months doesn’t seem bad, right?” Gray teases.

She playfully rolls her eyes. “I highly doubt Natsu will get back from Paris just to propose to me.”

“I’m sure I can talk him into it…”

“Don’t. You. Dare.”

“Or what?”

“Or you get Juvia’s ring size on your own.” She is all talk though. Of course, she is still going to help out Gray.

Gray sighs in defeat. “Fine… I’ll wait until three months of dating.”

“I think a year seems fair,” she admits.

“Well, when the time comes, bring her boyfriend here,” Harry says.

He nods. “Oh, you can count on that. You’ve been great.”

“And you had your sister helping you out as well.”

Gray smiles, looking at Lucy. “Yeah, she’s pretty great, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: First update of the new year, woo! I’m looking forward to 2017 (one year closer to 2018!) :D I never woulda guessed that CAF would still be going on strong even now XD Anyways, yay for GrayLu as a BrOTP! I love them that way :D
> 
> PS. Did Harry Potter make a cameo in this chapter? Maybe…
> 
> Happy New Year :D


	57. Chapter 57

Luck must be in the air because Lucy and Gray are able to leave the mall without seeing any paparazzi. At least his surprise won’t be blown all because people want to know what Lucy is up to in her day to day life. 

Since the duo drove separately, she is able to swing by the Dragneel’s home afterwards. On her way over, she notices all of the community yard sale signs. It looks like the Dragneels will be missing out on the neighborhood event that will be taking place for three days. The first day doesn’t start until Thursday, and it’ll be over before they get back on Saturday.

She parks her car on the driveway and strolls up to the front door, bagged lunch and house key in hand. She knows the garage code, but rather than waiting Lucy steps inside the house and locks the deadbolt behind her. “Happy!” she calls out. “Carla!”

True to being his talkative self, Happy is meowing up a storm when he trots down the hallway. He snakes around her legs, demanding attention with gentle headbutts.

She laughs at his actions. “Give me a second to get comfortable and then I’ll pet you as much as you want.” While Lucy walks into the kitchen, she has to be careful about not tripping over Happy.

Ever the lady, Carla is sitting on the edge of the island and cleaning herself with a paw.

“Hello, Carla,” Lucy greets.

She stops cleaning for a moment before resuming.

Before eating her own food, Lucy checks on the cats’ food and water. There is one food bowl and two water dishes. “Looks like you two need more water,” she comments.

There is a water pitcher by the sink that is used to refill the dishes. It is easier to use rather than moving the dishes to the sink and moving them back without spilling water. After Lucy fills both dishes, Happy drinks from one of them.

With him being distracted, Lucy takes her lunch out of the bag and carries it into the family room. After sitting down, she turns on the television and flips through the channels. Even though she has the cats as company, she wants to hear other noises. She doesn’t like quiet houses. The silence drives her crazy.

That is why she listens to music while she writes. At the same time, it helps her focus and not feel alone.

Happy promptly jumps up onto the couch to curl up on Lucy’s left side. He is purring up a storm already. 

Her left hand strokes his fur while her other one uses the remote to flip through the stations. When she finds one that she likes, she starts eating her takeout Italian spaghetti. It is still very warm.

Lucy looks down at Happy who is on his back. “Are you excited for Natsu to come back?” she asks.

He keeps on purring.

“Me, too.” Then she glances over to find Carla padding her way over to the couch. “And are you, Miss Carla, excited for Wendy to come back?”

She meows in reply.

“Me, too.” Lucy backs at the television. “Saturday can’t come soon enough.”

When an idea comes to mind, she takes out her phone and sends photos of the cats to Natsu and Wendy using Snapchat. She figures that they will like seeing how their pets are doing.

**x-X-x ******

A couple of hours later, Lucy is back in her car and driving on the highway. When her phone starts ringing from the cup holder, she turns down the volume of the radio before answering. “Hey, Yukino,” she greats, knowing the caller because of who’s faced popped up.

“How’s it going, Miss Writer?” The smile is heard in her voice.

“Oh, you know me,” Lucy chuckles. “Still writing. Still trying to figure out which work to go for.”

She laughs. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Because you know me.” Lucy realizes that her exit is coming up. Signaling to get over in the right most lane, she checks her surroundings before merging. She makes the change with ease.

“Well, that’s true. And because I’m your assistant. And because we’re friends. Shall I go on?”

“I’m sure the list just gets longer. Anyways, why did you call?”

“As your assistant, I was calling to check on your progress.” Yukino answers. “I know you like having a personal deadline when it comes to your writing. In this case, the deadline for choosing which work you’ll focus on next.”

Lucy groans. “There’s quite a few I’m working on now, but I have yet to–” She watches things in slow motion.

There is a dark red car ahead of Lucy and a silver van to the left of it. The van is signaling to get over and when it starts merging, it is like the driver is completely unaware that there is a car besides them. “No, no, stop!” Lucy shouts, as if her voice can do anything to prevent the scene.

“What’s wrong?” Yukino asks, panic in her voice. She is scared that something is happening to Lucy.

The van hits the car, causing it to dramatically swerve and crash into the wall to the right. It skids and turns before finally coming to a stop. On the other hand, the van keeps going and doesn’t slow down in the slightest.

To avoid her car getting involved, Lucy brakes and stops short of the newly damaged vehicle. Others behind her follow suit.

“Lucy!” Yukino shouts on the other end of the line. “Answer me! Are you–”

“I have to go,” Lucy says urgently to Yukino. “Car accident. Not me so don’t worry. Bye.” She hangs up without hearing a response from her friend. Adrenaline is already coursing through her veins. The plate of “LCKY ME” is easy enough to remember. At least a mix of numbers and letters isn’t involved. However, the driver won’t be so lucky when they are caught. Lucy knows the color of their car and their plate.

Going through with her decision to involve herself, Lucy parks her car and turns on the hazard lights. After checking that she won’t get it by a vehicle, she rushes out of her car to check on the driver of the red car. She goes up to the driver side door to find a lone woman inside.

She is slumped over in her chair, strands of her long white hair covering her face.

Lucy tries opening the door with no luck. She wraps a hand against the door since the window is cracked. “Are you all right in there?”

The woman isn’t responding. Did she happen to hit her head on something and knock herself out?

Not giving it a second thought, Lucy uses her phone to call for help. She gets connected right away.

**x-X-x ******

Some time later, Lucy is sitting in the waiting area of a hospital. The staff is denying her accesses to the hit driver for obvious reasons. She isn’t related or a friend. She is just some stranger. However, Lucy has come to learn that the driver’s name is Mirajane Dreyar and she is pregnant.

The police have since questioned Lucy. She told them everything about the hit and run driver. She is a witness to the accident and is on Mirajane’s side. The driver of the van has yet to be caught, but she knows their luck will fizzle out.

“Mira,” a male voice says to a lady behind the front desk. “I’m here for Mirajane Dreyar, my wife.”

Lucy instantly perks up and looks over. She notices the man is quite large. However, she won’t let that intimidate her. So she stands up and makes his way over to him. “Excuse me,” she calls.

The guy doesn’t respond.

So she tries again. “Excuse me, sir.”

This time, he turns to face her. With a broad chest, the fierce man looks quite menacing with a lightning bolt shaped scar on his right eye. His short blond hair is slicked back with spikes pointing backwards and a single tuft at the front of his hairline.

“I don’t know if they told you,” Lucy begins, “but I’m the one who called help for your wife.”

He seems a little surprised. “You’re Lucy?”

All right, so someone did tell him.

She merely nods.

Much to her surprise and completely catching her off guard, Lucy is lifted off her feet in the form of a hug. The man is absolutely squishing her without hurting her. “You saved my wife!” he gushes. “You saved our baby, too!”

Reality is still settling over Lucy. She is completely limp in his arms.

“Thank you,” he says, sounding like he is on the verge of crying.

When she is back on her feet, the man softly smiles. “I’m Laxus. Thank you for what you did for Mira and the baby.”

“They both got the help they needed after the accident.”

“Have you seen them?”

She shakes her head. “I can’t since I’m not family.”

“Not family? That’s absurd. You saved them!”

She doesn’t know about that. She hadn’t been one of the people to pull Mirajane from the car.

“Mr. Dreyar,” the woman behind the desk says to get his attention.

Both he and Lucy look.

“Would you like to see Mirajane now?” the woman asks. “She is awake and stable.”

Laxus slings an arm around Lucy’s shoulders. “She’s coming with me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: Some drama, but this time it isn’t happening to Lucy :P And I didn’t plan on any of that happening XD I was having some writer’s block when Lucy was on the phone with Yukino. Then the car accident happened…
> 
> PS. I don’t know much about the hospital procedure for this kinda thing. I know some nonfamily members aren’t allowed. But since the husband of the patient is giving permission, idk ???
> 
> A/N Part 2: Ohayocon 2017 is this coming weekend (13-15 (the 14 also marks my one year engagement :D). Normally I dedicate that time to being with friends and relaxing, so no promises if the update will come out then or the week after!!


	58. Chapter 58

Lucy closes the door to Mirajane’s hospital room behind her while Laxus goes over to his wife.

She has long white hair that becomes wavy towards the end and bangs pulled up in the front. Despite what she has been through, her sparkling dark blue eyes are simply full of life and joy. The highly noticeable swell of her stomach is hard to miss under the thin hospital blankets. The woman doesn’t appear to be harmed too badly. There is a cut on the left side of her forehead from hitting the window.

Mirajane is too busy hugging her husband to notice Lucy for the moment. Meanwhile, Lucy can only watch what is happening between the married couple.

“How are you?” he gushes, breaking away from the hug to look her over. “How’s the baby?”

She giggles a little bit, gently patting her stomach. “We’re both doing great according to the doctor and nurses.”

Laxus sighs in relief.

“You don’t have to worry anymore,” Mirajane teases. She knows how he can get when he is worried.

He tries brushing it off. “Who said anything about worrying?”

That gets her to giggle some more. “You can be so stoic at times.”

Only now does Mirajane notice Lucy. She is more than aware that she isn’t part of the hospital staff due to her attire. “Oh, hello.”

“Hi.”

Laxus smiles softly, taking his wife’s hand. “Mirajane, meet your personal guardian angel.”

She blinks in confusion. Then something sparks in her eyes. “Lucy Heartfilia!” She quickly tugs at Laxus’ hand while squeezing it. “She writes under the pen name of Ashley, and you know how much I love her books!” 

“I… didn’t even notice that…” he admits.

Lucy smiles, feeling a little shy. “Hi.”

“What are you doing here?” Mirajane inquires, still not releasing her husband’s hand.

“She’s been looking out for you since the start of the accident,” Laxus replies. “She was behind you when it happened.”

“A nurse mentioned a little bit about you,” Mirajane begins. “You checked on me and called for help.”

“She also got the bastard’s plates,” Laxus adds. “Last I knew, they were still looking for the person.”

“They’ll get caught,” Lucy assures the married couple.

Mirajane rest both hands on her stomach, making slowly circles with them. It is like she is comforting the life inside of her. “Some people in this world can do crazy things. It really gets you thinking.” Then she looks over at Lucy. “And then there are people like you. You didn’t have to involve yourself, but you did. I’m sure that other drivers just went on by. Maybe they thought about stopping, too, but they didn’t.”

“I guess it was a right place, right time kind of situation,” Lucy muses.

“And we’re grateful for that.” Laxus says.

Then she realizes what she just said. “Er, I mean, it wasn’t a right place for you. I didn’t mean it like that.”

Mirajane smiles. “I understood perfectly.” Then she holds out her arms towards Lucy.

Lucy is slightly confused. “What… ?”

“She’s a hugger,” Laxus says.

“I promise that I give good hugs,” Mirajane says.

More than happy to oblige, Lucy walks over for the hug.

“Thank you,” Mirajane whispers in her ear. Then she squeezes a little bit tighter.

Suddenly, there is a knock on the door.

“Come in,” Laxus says, remaining on the right side of the bed.

Lucy straightens up and watches two people walk inside of the room.

Seeming to be around Lucy’s age, the young woman looks like a different version of Mirajane. She has much shorter locks in the same color that frames her face with the help of bangs. She also has light blue eyes and fair skin.

With tan skin and muscular build, the young man has white hair styled upwards and sideburns on his face. His eyes are dark while his right one has a scar running from the corner of it across his cheek to the other side of his face.

The two look relieved when they see Mirajane.

“Big Sis!” the woman exclaims happily.

“Lisanna, Elfman, I’m fine,” Mirajane assures, getting right to the point for her younger siblings.

Elfman nods. “That’s manly.”

“It’s all thanks to Lucy here,” Mirajane adds.

Lisanna and Elfman both look at her.

“Hello,” Lucy greets.

“Oh, you’re the one Laxus must have told me about,” Lisanna says.

Laxus just nods.

“Thank you for helping our sister,” Elfman says. “That was really manly of you.”

“I’m glad I was able to help out,” Lucy says.

“Does anyone know if they caught that driver yet?” Lisanna asks.

“Not to my knowledge,” Laxus replies.

Elfman makes a single fist. “They’ll catch that no good person.”

Lisanna looks at Lucy. “That was quick thinking on your part. Getting the license plate, I mean.”

“It definitely wasn’t there lucky day with me as a witness,” she comments.

Laxus cracks a small grin. He understands her choice of words.

“But you’re more than a witness,” Elfman points out. “You did something about Mirajane. From what Lisanna told me that Laxus told her, you checked on her. You called for help. You waited for help to arrive.”

“And from the look of things, you waited at the hospital,” Lisanna adds.

“Well, that’s because no one else was here,” Lucy says. “I didn’t want to leave until someone showed up for Mirajane.”

“Laxus called me when he was driving over here,” Lisanna says. “He counted on us to tell others.”

“Speaking of that, does my dad know?” Laxus asks.

Elfman nods. “Lisanna called him.”

“He’ll be here when he can,” Lisanna adds. “That’s what he told me.”

Everything seems to be working out despite what happened with the car accident. Perhaps it is time for Lucy to leave. After all, Mirajane has her family here now. She looks at Laxus. “I think I’ll be going then. If the police call for more questions, I’ll be sure to answer.”

“You’re already leaving?” Mirajane pouts. “So soon?”

“I thought that you’d want to spend time with your family. Not some stranger, I guess.”

“Some stranger?” she scoffs.

“You saved my wife and our unborn child,” Laxus says.

Mirajane nods in agreement. 

Lucy doesn’t bothering arguing. She feels as though she did play a small roll. The paramedics were the ones who actually got Mirajane out of the vehicle and brought her to the hospital. Instead, she just smiles. “I guess I’m not a stranger then.”

That gets Mirajane to smile along with her.

“I’m Lisanna, by the way,” she says to properly introduce herself. “Elfman is my big brother. And you already know Mirajane and Laxus.”

“Lucy,” she says.

“Welcome to the family, Lucy!” Mirajane cheers.

“Wh-what?” she stutters in surprise.

She winks. “Eh, what’s one more?”

Laxus folds his arms across his chest. “You’re stuck with us now. No way out. Especially because Mira’s word is law.”

“Family is always a great thing to gain,” Lucy muses.

Mirajane gasps.

“That’s what Mira says,” Elfman comments.

“Family is important,” Mirajane says. “From the one you’re born with to the family you chose along the way in life.”

“Or marry into,” Lisanna adds.

That gets Laxus to grin and take a step closer to his wife to rest a hand on her shoulder.

“And the family you make yourself,” Lucy adds, noting Mirajane’s pregnancy.

She rubs more circles over her belly. “All of it is special.”

Elfman sniffles. “This is… so touching. So manly.”

Lisanna takes out a tissue from her purse. “And it’s manly to cry.”

“It’s one of the manliest things a man can do.” Then he dabs at his eyes before blowing his nose.

Someone new walks through the open door since Lisanna or Elfman didn’t shut it behind them.

He is an extremely short man who can pass as a grandfather. His eyes are a dark shade unlike his white hair. Well, with what hair he does have. Along with the thick mustache on his face, he is going bald. The only hair on his scalp is on the outer rim.

He is carrying a vase of colorful flowers that can cheer anyone up. A “get well soon” balloon is also in tow.

“Pops,” Laxus says.

“Oh, hello, Makarov,” Mirajane says cheerfully.

“Lisanna told me what happened…” he says, looking over Mirajane with his own eyes so he knows that she really is all right.

“I’ll take care of these for you...” Lisanna takes the flowers and attached balloon to put them down.

“I’m a-okay all thanks to Lucy.” Then Mirajane motions to her with a hand.

Makarov takes one look at Lucy and gasps, pointing a finger at her. “You’re Natsu’s girl!”

She is surprised that some stranger knows that they are dating.

Laxus perks up. “Natsu? Like, Natsu the delivery guy from your Clover Lane location?”

Makarov nods. “The very same!”

Lucy looks at Laxus. “How do you know that?”

“I pop in and out of my old man’s stores to check on things,” he replies. “It’s hard to forget somebody like Natsu.”

Lucy makes the connection now. Makarov’s Pizzeria! He is Makarov Dreyar, the owner of that popular chain!

“So you’re telling me that Lucy already shares a connection with us because of Natsu?” Mirajane inquires, wrapping her head around it all.

Elfman whistles. “Wow, what are the odds of that?”

Mirajane smiles big. “What a small world we live in!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Yay for new characters making an appearance :D As for Lisanna, idk if she’ll have past ties with Natsu as a friend like she does in canon. She won’t be part of any love triangle though. And yes, I try and add references/easter eggs to other works of mine. In this chapter, RPRT had a bit :P
> 
> PS. Ohayocon was great! I loved it so much! It was great to not worry about writing the next chapter and posting right after that busy weekend :P And now I’m excited for the summer Matsuricon :D For those who are curious, I cosplayed Lucy!Dragneel all weekend. It was Lucy (long hair with twintails with her guild mark) and my fave pair of Natsu’s clothes! I even carried around a Plue :) I also met Monica Rial, the voice of Mirajane and Plue!! :D


	59. Chapter 59

After three o’clock on Tuesday, Lucy is getting back to her apartment. She had a long lunch with her father, and checked on Happy and Carla on her way back. Everyone is doing fine.

Now back at her place, she knows that she has hours to kill before the girls’ night out. Yesterday evening, it had been decided that she, Levy, Juvia, and Erza are going out to have fun tonight. No boys allowed. The four are going out for drinking and dancing. It will be great seeing everyone face to face again.

So until Lucy has to start getting ready for a night of fun, she decides to work on her laptop. She does need to narrow down her ideas. Better yet, she needs to stick with one to be her main focus.

“Ugh, but which one?” she groans to herself as her laptop boots up.

Maybe she needs to make a new document of what she likes about each of her ideas. However, instead of doing that, she hops on Pinterest. The content sharing site allows people to pin things from images, videos, and more to their pinboards. One can also follow others and see what they pin. Lucy likes using the site for inspiration for her works that range from character’s looks and attires to places. She also has other boards for fashion likes and recipes from cooking and baking.

She is scrolling down through her home page, looking at what the people she follows have pinned. Some pins pop up because the website is making suggestions based on her history. Then Lucy sees something that catches her attention.

It is a vertical, pencil drawing of two hands being held together from below the elbows. The only thing in color is the red string that is winding around the fingers and forearms. It signifies the Red String of Fate. An invisible red string is tied to two people. It originated from Chinese culture, and they say it ties around ankles. The Japanese say the pinkie fingers. The string can get knotted and stretched. Twisted and tangled. But it’ll never break. Ever. Those two people are destined to meet. Time, place, and circumstances are all regardless

She stares at the image, the gears in her mind turning. Something is beginning to form. The string connects soul mates to one another. The two are destined to be lovers. However, the work won’t be hot and heavy. Lucy wants it to be sweet, but she wants it to be more than that. She also doesn’t want the couple to have everything nicely lined up for them. Does one know and not the other? Is one keeping it a secret?

Before she completely dives headfirst into the idea, Lucy opens a new word document. She brainstorms some basic things. She also makes sure to pin the image to a brand new board and entitles “Red” due to the significant color.

Not even ten minutes later, Lucy likes what she is seeing. There is a magic teaching school, and the four elements will play a role for the magic-type people have. Magic users only have one type. Their elemental matches it, too. So since the main character has fire, her elemental is made of fire. Likewise, elements and elementals will be assigned others. Since Lucy likes the dynamics of opposites, the love interest will probably have water-type magic.

Of course, there is more. Unlike her other novels, Lucy wants to add a focus on a touch of something that can be very real for people. She wants a somewhat unhealthy relationship featured to show that someone can escape it. She has personally never experienced or seen one, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t exist.

Lucy’s phone vibrates since the sound is muted, informing her that she has a new message. When she checks the screen, she smiles and undoes her password to read it. 

_Natsu: Luccce! I miss your face!! ___

She sends a quick reply his way. 

_Lucy: I miss you, too! ___

_Natsu: Can it be Saturday now? ___

_Lucy: It’ll be here soon enough. ___

_Natsu: Soon enough isn’t soon enough for me :P ___

Even though he can’t see her, she playfully rolls her eyes before typing more.

_Lucy: So enjoy your family time in Paris until then :P ___

_Natsu: So mean D: You make it seem like you don’t wanna see me. ___

_Lucy: But I do! ___

_Natsu: Save that “I do” for our wedding day :P ___

She is more than thankful that he can’t see her face right now. Then she thinks of a perfect response. 

_Lucy: You’re acting like me saying yes to your proposal is in the bag… ___

_Natsu: Maybe you just wanna tell me no so you can propose to me… ___

_Lucy: As if! ___

_Natsu: So if! ___

_Lucy: That doesn’t even make sense! ___

_Natsu: Whelp, it does in my book :P ___

_Lucy: You’re a weirdo... ___

_Natsu: I’m pretty sure it’s stated that you’re in the weirdo in this relationship. I’m the pretty one. ___

_Lucy: No way! ___

_Natsu: Say that to my Mr. Model face! ___

She laughs at his message, not that she will ever admit it.

_Lucy: Beauty isn’t everything. ___

_Natsu: Sure it is :P ___

_Lucy: *Sure, it is :P ___

_Natsu: Ooo, look at you being so smart! ___

_Lucy: Say that to my published books! ___

_Natsu: Speaking of books ever figure out which one to do next? ___

Lucy spares a glance at her laptop’s screen. The word document is on one side while Pinterest is on the other. Then she looks down at her phone.

_Lucy: Actually, I started a new idea… ___

_Natsu: A neeew one? ___

_Lucy: Yesss. ___

_Natsu: I can’t wait to hear all about it :D ___

_Lucy: Maybe I’ll have more details down before I tell you. ___

_Natsu: You can do it! ___

_Natsu: Can I show you something? ___

_Lucy: I don’t see why not… ___

However, an incoming photo isn’t what she receives. Instead, a message to connect to a video chat pops up on her screen. She doesn’t hesitate to accept.

Because of the time zone difference, there is a beautiful sunset. The Eiffel Tower is in the background. People are walking by, simply adding to the ambiance of it all.

“One of these days, I’ll take you here myself so we can look at this together,” Natsu says, his voice coming from off the screen. The smile is hard to miss in his voice.

“And you can show me all the best places around,” Lucy says.

“Oh, the best places to eat will be first on the list.”

She laughs. “I don’t expect less from you.”

The camera angle shifts, and Natsu appears. “Hiya, Luce.”

“Hey,” she greets with a smile.

Lucy does miss him. Messaging and video chats can only do so much to make up for the lack of being together in person. She plans on giving him a big hug when he’s back from Paris. Maybe she’ll wait at the airport for him. Or perhaps it’ll be best to wait until he has some time to adjust being back home.

“Having any fun back in Magnolia?” he asks.

She has yet to tell him about yesterday’s adventure with the Dreyar and Strauss families. And she hasn’t mentioned anything about going out tonight with the girls. “I’ve been on my toes, that’s for sure.”

His grin turns a little lopsided. “Why’s that? Shouldn’t you be having fun?”

“There’s been some fun along the way.” She makes up her mind about telling him about yesterday. “So something happened yesterday…” 

Panic flashes across his face. “Wh-what?”

“Nothing happened to me. I’m totally fine. Promise.”

He visibly relaxes. “That’s good to hear.”

“I met a few people that you know.”

He blinks. “Like who?”

“A car accident happened in front of me,” she begins to say. “There was a hit and run, and Mirajane Dreyar was involved.”

His eyes light up with recognition. “Mira! Is she okay? How about the baby?”

“I called for help, and paramedics took her to the hospital. I met Laxus there. He took me up to see Mirajane. She and the baby are both fine. Her two siblings showed up, and then Makarov did.”

“Hey, you met the whole gang.”

“Mirajane knew me because of my books, but Makarov and Laxus knew because you talk about me…”

Natsu knows exactly what she is talking about. “Is that so… ?”

“Natsu’s girl. Do you think it has a nice ring to it?”

He nods, a blush creeping in. “I also think Mrs. Dragneel is great.”

Now it’s her turn to blush. “Oh, yeah? Well, what about Mr. Heartfilia for you?”

He has never thought about that before. “Hearing that makes me think of your dad.”

“He took my mother’s name.”

He seems a little surprised. “Really?”

“Yes.”

It is clear to see that an idea has popped into Natsu’s mind. “Okay, how about this? If I propose to you first, you take on Dragneel. If you propose first, I’ll change my last name to Heartfilia.”

Lucy laughs. “Where did you even come up with that?”

He taps his head with a finger. “All my great ideas come from here.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that.”

“Hey, it was my idea to text you about the review you left for me.”

“That’s not fair. It’s not like I had your number to text.”

“But you knew where I worked.”

“You knew where I lived.”

“Huh. Good point.”

Then she laughs some more. “How did we even get here?” She is referring to their current conversation.

“I’m pretty sure it’s because of that review. That started it all for us.” He is referring to their current lives and relationship now.

They keep on talking. Pretty soon, Natsu has to get going.

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” he says. 

“I’ll be waiting.” Then she decides to switch into French. “ _Je t’aime ___."

He smiles and speaks fluently in French. “ _Je t’adore ___."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: I lowkey feel bad about not getting this chapter out yesterday. But I had family stuff all Sunday and I had to work on Monday for a change. But at least it’s out now :D As for the next chapter, I dunno if I’ll feature the Girls Night orrr start the mini arc (it’ll be the last part to the arc of the Dragneels being away) that will lead to the Dragneels coming home…
> 
> A/N Part 2: Red is another in-progress work of mine :P I’ve been going back and forth between it and a few others. I really do like the dynamics it might be able to bring to the table. I’m still building up the idea. I’ve got the main characters named and some traits attached to them. Of course, more needs done to it…


	60. Chapter 60

The next morning, Lucy cracks open her eyes. Her mind is a little fuzzy, but she can remember parts of last night. Before the alcohol really kicked in. She really enjoyed herself with her friends.

She sits up in bed and looks down at herself. At least she made it into her pajamas before crashing onto her bed. She didn’t even use the covers. Then Lucy looks over at her alarm clock, discovering it is only a few minutes after eleven in the morning.

She rubs her face with both hands before lightly slapping her cheeks twice. A hot shower will do her good. Really good. So she gets to it.

Now fresh from the shower and all squeaky clean, Lucy dresses for the day. It is a pair of black running shorts and a pink cami. She’ll have a lazy day today.

Grabbing her completely charged phone, she goes through her notifications. Email is easy enough to skip over. She checks missed texts, finding all the girls made it home safe and sound. She smiles when she discovers there are photos from Natsu via Snapchat. Some are of him just him and him with his family. Others are pretty views. The last one is a video.

Natsu’s face is taking up the screen. “Hiya, Luce! I’m one more day closer to seeing your face!” His smile grows bigger. “So expect kisses from me! Like, a lotta them! _Je t’aime ___!” He uses the remaining seconds of the ten-second video to wave with his free hand.

So Lucy decides to make a video as a reply back. “I’m excited for you to get back home, but enjoy your time in Paris while you’re still there. I’ll see you once you get settled back in Magnolia.” She blows a kiss at the camera. " _Je t’aime ___!"

She leaves her phone on her bed while putting on shoes. She plans on checking on Happy and Carla for the day. Oh, but breakfast. Even though it’s almost noon now, she still needs breakfast. Well, maybe it’ll be considered brunch.

One bowl of cereal later, Lucy is out the door with her keys, phone, and a book in hand. Just because she writes books it doesn’t mean that she can’t read from other authors. She plans on reading at the Dragneels while keeping the cats company.

**x-X-x ******

The next morning, the cycle basically repeats itself. Lucy wakes up and goes for a quick run before showering. After breakfast, she leaves her apartment with the sequel to the book she finished yesterday.

After turning into the neighborhood where the Dragneels live, Lucy remembers that today is the first day the community yard sale. That means the neighborhood will have more people in it than usual.

Lucy comes across a slight problem when the Dragneel home comes into view. The driveway has been repaved and taped off. That means Lucy can’t park on it like she has been. Unfortunately for her, normally empty, free spots in the street will have vehicles.

“Maybe I’ll have to park further away and walk–” she begins to say to herself.

As if luck is on her side, a van backs up out of space and drives away. The spot is right across the street from the Dragneel home, in front of another house. Lucy eases her car into the space and gets out, taking her belongings with her.

She looks both ways before crossing the street. She checks the mailbox for yesterday’s mail and takes it inside the house with her, locking the front door behind her. “Happy!” she calls out. “Carla!”

Like always, Happy trots down the hallway towards her all while meowing.

“Hello to you, too,” Lucy giggles. She is careful not to accidently step on him while walking into the kitchen.

He rubs against her smooth legs, purring up a storm. He keeps meowing. 

“You’re so talkative today,” Lucy says, setting the mail down on the island. After setting her belongings onto the counter, she scoops up Happy into her arms.

With eyes closed, he soaks up the belly scratches.

“You’re living the life, aren’t you?” she coos.

He only keeps on purring.

Using one hand, Lucy grabs her phone and opens up Snapchat. She takes a video of Happy and his purring. Then she types a message of “He likes me more than you…” before sending it Natsu’s way.

After grabbing her book, Lucy walks into the family room to find Carla curled up on one of the couches. “There you are,” she says to the feline.

Carla lifts her head, looks at Lucy, then goes back to her sleeping position with her head down.

Rather than turning on the television for background noise, Lucy uses her phone. The first song from her soothing instrumental playlist begins playing.

With Happy now on her lap, Lucy uses both hands to read her book. Thirty pages in, Happy abruptly jumps up and goes over to the backdoor. He starts meowing.

Lucy places a bookmark in the book and stands up. “I’m coming, I’m coming.”

Happy is up on his hind legs, his front legs against the glass of the door. He is meowing and pawing at it.

“Do you want outside?” Lucy asks. She knows he is allowed outside since he never strays far from the house. Carla is as well, but she doesn’t venture past the little wooden porch.

Once she opens the door, Happy darts outside.

Lucy looks over her shoulder at Carla. “Do you–” She stops talking when she realizes she is only looking at couch. Carla is gone from where she just was.

Closing the door behind her, Lucy looks forward to look around for Carla in the family room. She is all curled up right where Lucy had been sitting. She is soaking up the heat that Lucy left behind.

Lucy walks over to sit down next to Carla. “If you wanted to cuddle, all you had to do was ask.”

Carla doesn’t bother opening her eyes.

With Happy now outside, Lucy won’t leave until he is back inside. Which means that she can read her book in the meantime.

**x-X-x ******

Nearly an hour later, there is pawing and meowing at the backdoor. Happy has returned.

After marking her page, Lucy gets up to let him inside. She discovers a dead chipmunk on the porch besides Happy. “Oh… you shouldn’t have…”

He merely trots inside, leaving the gift for Lucy to attend to. Only when she properly disposes of the chipmunk does she return to the couch and continue reading. After sitting down, she realizes that she didn’t lock the door after coming back inside.

She looks at the deadbolt, at her book in hand, and back at the deadbolt. “Eh, I’ll get it when I leave.” After all, she always double checks to make sure that the backdoor is locked when she leaves. Then she locks the front door behind her with the key she has before driving away.

Lucy goes back to her book, delving into the world the author fabricated. Happy is on her lap while Carla is on her right side. Maybe the two are keeping her company while she reads instead of her keeping them company?

**x-X-x ******

Lucy abruptly wakes up. The house is completely dark. It’s already nighttime. Now she remembers taking a nap after finishing the book. She didn’t mean to fall asleep for so long.

“Looks like they forgot to lock up after leaving,” a male voice snickers in the dark.

“They might as well have invited us over,” a deeper male voice says.

Lucy’s entire body becomes rigid. Fear trickles along her skin. She woke up because of a noise. That noise had been the backdoor shutting.

What does she do? Maybe the two intruders haven’t noticed het yet. Does she have of grabbing her phone and calling for help? Speaking of her phone, music isn’t playing. The only reason the music would have stopped is she paused it or her phone died. She definitely fell asleep while the music had still been playing…

A set of feet venture into the kitchen while the other goes more into the family room.

Suddenly, Carla starts hissing. She doesn’t like the unexpected company. 

A flashlight is clicked on and the beam of light is aimed around to find the source of the hissing. Along with the cats, Lucy is spotted.

She is blinded by the sudden light and tries covering her eyes with her arms.

“Shit, there’s someone here!” the man who spoke first says.

His partner makes his way over to the family room. “Neighbor lady said the family is in Paris.”

Lucy scrambles to her feet, the flashlight staying on her.

Happy is the first to take action at the matter at hand. He runs along the couch and leaps at the closest man, clinging onto his clothed torso with his claws. He works his way up while the man tries ridding himself of the feline. The man flailing causes the flashlight to send light around the room.

“Turn it off!” the intruder with the deeper voice hisses.

“I’m being attacked!” he wails, not keeping his voice down.

Carla gets to work as well, going after the same intruder. She goes after a leg to bite and scratch.

With the erratic flashlight beam as her only source of light, Lucy looks around for something to use. Whether it is to defend herself or call for help.

“Pull yourself together!” the second intruder instructs, not lending his buddy a hand with the cats.

The one being attacked shouts in pain. “My face!” Then he drops his flashlight to grab Happy with both of his hands. He tries kicking away Carla at the same time.

Lucy moves, tripping over her shoes that she took off before napping. Rolling her left ankle, she starts falling. A scream of surprise slips from her lips. She hits her head on a corner of the coffee table. Her entire world goes pitch black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: I decided to skip over Girls Night Out since I wanted to get to this next part XD And when it came to that Snapchat videos, I used my app to make sure they fit under 10 seconds haha. I hope y’all can survive with this anticlimactic ending before my next update :P I have been planning this for months (even the ending of this chapter). Since the earlier chapters of CAF!
> 
> A/N Part 2: Not that y’all wanna hear this, but maaaaybe I’ll be wrapping up CAF soon-ish. Don’t worry, there still some things I wanna have happen. Maybe 10ish chapters or so if things go the way I want it to. If :P There are some other fanfics I wanna get to, or add on to one-shots I’ve already posted…


	61. Chapter 61

Lucy blearily opens her eyes. The first thing that she notices is she is lying down on a hospital bed. Some machines are hooked up to her. There is even a nasal cannula to help with oxygen intake. She can feel the air flow.

“Oh, good,” a familiar voice says. “You’re awake.”

Moving her head to her left, she spots her father. Jude is sitting on the plush bench that is underneath the only window in the room.

He closes his book, sets it aside, and stands up to walk over to Lucy. “How do you feel?”

“What happened?” she asks, ignoring his question.

He asks her another question rather than answering her. “Do you know where you are?”

“A hospital. But why?”

“What do you remember from last night?”

Her brain starts connecting dots. “I was watching Happy and Carla. Then I fell asleep–”

Without warning, the door to the room opens. Gray strolls inside with a bag of goodies in hand. “They didn’t have what you wanted so–” He stops talking when he notices that Lucy is conscious. He sends an ice melting smile her way. “Hey, Lucy.”

“Gray?” she asks, feeling slightly confused. Why are Jude and Gray both here for her? What is going on?

Leaving the door open behind him, Gray walks further into the room and stands on Jude’s left side. “Do you remember anything from last night?”

“I fell asleep after watching Happy and Carla,” she responds. “I don’t think I woke up after…” Her voice trails off. “I could have fallen back asleep if I did.”

“Two thieves broke in for an attempted robbery,” Jude says.

She gasps, knowing that she is definitely missing parts since she doesn’t recall anything of the sort. “What happened?”

Jude looks at Gray. “Would you mind fetching the officer?” he asks. “I don’t think that Lucy will want to explain things again if she starts remembering.”

“Sure thing.” Then Gray passes off the bag to Jude and starts walking away. “Be right back.”

Lucy watches him go before looking at her father. “Am I all right?” Well, of course, she isn’t all right. She’s in a hospital.

“You have no hemorrhaging or concussion.”

Concussion. That means her head was involved with something. She slowly raises her right hand to gingerly touch her head.

“Easy there,” Jude says, stepping forward to stop her. “Let me show you instead.”

She lowers her arm down. “All right.”

So he takes out his phone and goes under his camera app, having the front-facing camera on. He hands it to Lucy so she can see for herself.

Her eyes grow wide with surprise. She has clearly had better days. Today she looks so worn out. The most noticeable thing on her, apart from the nasal cannula, is the stitches. Her bangs are pulled back to reveal stitches along her hairline on her right side.

She doesn’t look away from the phone’s screen. “How did that happen?” Lucy asks in a quiet voice.

“You really don’t remember, do you?”

She looks at her father, hanging back his phone. “How much don’t I remember?”

Gray returns with a police officer, the officer shutting the door behind him.

The man has a fit build and dark skin. His dark hair stands upwards while he has prominent sideburns that join up with his beard on his face. His green eyes are framed in by his high cheekbones and thick eyebrows.

“I’m Officer Arcadios, and I’m here to ask you a few questions,” he says, taking out a notepad and pen. “Even though this isn’t a question, I want to start things off by saying it’s good to see you awake, Miss Heartfilia.”

She realizes something. “Wait, what day is it? How long have I been out?”

“It’s Friday afternoon,” Jude says, assuring her that she hasn’t been out for too long. “As in Friday the thirtieth.”

She sighs in relief. “That’s good to know.”

“What were you doing before the thieves broke in?” Arcadios asks.

“I was sleeping with Happy and Carla,” she replies. “I don’t remember anything after that though.”

“When Gray and I were walking back, he had mentioned you have memory loss,” Arcadios comments.

Lucy bites her lower lip. “I don’t think that I’ll be much help…”

“Will talking about what happened jog her memory?” Gray suggests.

Jude nods. “I don’t think that it’ll hurt.”

“My father had mentioned that two thieves broke in,” Lucy says. “And something else about attempted robbery.”

“You said that you were sleeping with the cats,” Arcadios comments. “Where was that?”

“In the family room,” she replies. “On a couch. I put down the book I finished to nap.”

“And you don’t recall waking up?”

She shakes her head a little bit.

Arcadios jots down a note before looking at her. “We have one half of the story because the two men have been apprehended. Reeves and Barrett specifically selected the Dragneel’s house. They were going from house to house, scouting out what kind of goods people were getting rid of. They overheard a conversation between homeowners saying that the Dragneel family was away on vacation. Reeves and Barrett decided to rob their house that night.

“According to them, they went through the backdoor that wasn’t locked.”

Lucy knows why. “That’s because Happy wanted to go outside earlier. When I let him back in, I forgot to lock the door. I planned on doing that when I left. After finishing my book, I took a nap…”

Lowering his notepad from taking notes, Arcadios starts speaking again. “Reeves and Barrett entered the house when Barrett came across you and the cats. One of the cats attacked Barrett before the other one did.”

Lucy starts smiling. Happy and Carla had her back then. She at least owes them treats. Maybe some toys.

“Both Reeves and Barrett say that, on your own accord, you tripped and hit your head on the coffee table. That knocked you right out. The two then fled since they didn’t want to be pinned for murder.”

“And then one of them was caught,” Gray says smugly. 

“What happened?” Lucy asks, wondering how the duo ended up in custody.

Arcadios motions for Gray to tell the story.

“You’ve met Droy and Jet, right?” Gray asks.

The two live next to the Dragneel’s house, on the left side. Droy is a retired police officer, and Jet is his retired police canine.

“I’ve met them both a few times,” Lucy responds.

“Droy just so happened to be letting Jet out when the robbers were trying to run away. Jet took down Barrett since he was slower. Both are in custody since Barrett ratted out Reeves.”

“So how… did someone find out about me?” Lucy asks. She wonders if it had been hours before she was discovered. There is no doubt that she was covered in blood from her head injury.

“Droy was already calling the police when he was going up to Jet and Barrett,” Arcadios replies. “Barrett mentioned that you were inside and unconscious. Droy took care of you until help arrived.”

“And here I am now…” Lucy concludes.

“Safe and sound,” Jude adds.

At least everything is working out, despite what did happen. Reeves and Barrett are in custody, not loose where they can try robbing again. Sure, the Dragneel family is away, but–

“What about Natsu and his family?” Lucy asks suddenly.

“They’re more than aware of what happened,” Jude assures her. “Droy called Igneel the moment an ambulance arrived for you.”

“Come to think of it, they should be landing here soon,” Gray comments. “Natsu mentioned that a plane was delayed.”

Lucy knows that it makes sense that they left Paris early. She can only wonder how the phone call that Droy made to Igneel went. “So what now?” she asks.

“You aren’t leaving here until tomorrow,” Jude replies. “You’re being kept overnight just to ensure that nothing is wrong.”

“I’ll be leaving now,” Arcadios says, putting away his things. “Feel free to contact me if there is a need. I’ve already given your father my card.”

“Thanks for listening,” Lucy says. “Even though I don’t think I was very helpful.”

“I was hoping to get confirmation if either of the two laid a hand on you,” Arcadios says. “They both heavily insisted that you tripped all on your own.”

“Yet they left her to bleed out,” Gray scoffs, before shrugging. “Then again, they would have outed themselves if they called for an ambulance.”

“They’ll get what they deserve,” Lucy reminds him.

“The system will be sure of that,” Arcadios says, and then nods goodbye at everyone. “On my way out, I’ll tell a nurse that you’re awake.” When he leaves the room, he leaves the door wide open.

Lucy looks at Jude and Gray. “So how did you two find out?”

“Natsu,” they reply in unison.

She blinks in surprise. “Really?”

“After Droy called Igneel, Igneel woke up his family to tell them,” Jude explains. “Natsu promptly called me to inform me of the situation. He said that he was going to call Gray when he hung up.”

“Cue Natsu calling me and asking me to come here, too,” Gray adds.

“Does anyone else know?” Lucy inquires.

“On my way over here, I called Gajeel and told him to tell others,” Gray replies. “I’ve given some text updates to people. I haven’t said that you’re awake yet, which I should probably do. Natsu will want to know.” Then he takes out his phone to start texting the group.

A blur of dark colors and pink darts by the open doorway. The person circles back and stands awestruck out in the hallway. Natsu makes eye contact with Lucy and just about loses it. “Luce!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: Sorry not sorry for posting a day after Monday. I’ve been terribly sick since Saturday after work. Sunday was 90% resting on a couch and having family take care of me. Well, family is still taking care of me now. But I’m doing much better when I was at my low :P
> 
> A/N Part 2: Somewhat of a filler chapter. Filled in some blanks, I suppose. AND NATSU IS BACK :D Reeves Barrett is someone from Elvina, and I just like the name. So I split it in half for the robbers XD
> 
> Happy Valentine’s Day! Nothing wrong with spreading some love :D


	62. Chapter 62

The moment Natsu pays for his taxi ride from the airport to the hospital, he’s gone. He isn’t being slow and calm about things. He’s rushing, his mind going a mile a minute. He already knows the room number because of Gray. He just has to make it to the right floor and get to the right room.

“Hey, no running!” a voice scolds. 

He doesn’t listen. He is basically a blur as he darts through the hallways. In fact, he accidentally passes the room in his rush. So he skids to a stop and turns around. Then he stands awestruck out in the hallway, peering into the room. Natsu makes eye contact with Lucy. His heart skips a beat. “Luce!”

He practically launches himself at his girlfriend. He stops short so he doesn’t collide into her, knocking her around. She has been knocked around enough already. “Luce, you’re-you’re-you’re–” Natsu’s emotions are bubbling to the surface now. Especially when he narrows in on her stitches.

“Hey, there’s a bush around here that I want to show you,” Gray says suddenly, nudging Jude.

He gives him an incredulous look. “A bush?”

“Yes, a bush. Did I stutter?”

“No, it’s just that–” Things click into place. Jude now understands to leave Lucy and Natsu alone for the time being. “By all means, lead the way.”

Natsu starts cracking before the two make it out of the room. “Y-you got hurt…”

“It was an accident,” she says in hopes to calm him down. “I tripped. No one pushed me or anything like that.”

“Two guys broke into the house to rob it. While you were there.”

“So it was a right place, wrong time for me.”

He blinks back tears that are threatening to fall. “Dad said that Droy said there was a”-his voice begins to crack-“lotta blood. I haven’t been to the house yet to see. But I”-he sniffles-“don’t wanna see that.”

“I hit my head on the table. It’s normal for head injuries to bleed a lot.”

“Yeah, but-but–”

“But nothing.” Then Lucy holds out her arms for a hug. “Now come here. I haven’t seen you in days.

He doesn’t hesitate. Not in the slightest. Natsu comes undone the moment his arms wrap around her.

She just holds him tightly, not interrupting the moment. He needs to get all of his emotions out. Bottling them up won’t do him any good. That’s not his style anyway. “It’s all right,” Lucy coos. “I’m all right. Really.”

His grip tightens a little. “I l-love you.”

She softly smiles. “I love you, too.”

x-X-x

It’s nighttime. The others have gone home. Lucy and Natsu are sharing her hospital bed to the best of their abilities. The only light in the room is coming from underneath the bed. It acts like a nightlight.

“So then I caught a ride straight here from the airport,” Natsu says, finishing up his story.

Lucy can only wonder what his family came home to. Even now, is the family room still unsightly? Or does it still need to be cleaned up? “At least everyone is back in Magnolia.”

“Good ol’ Magnolia.”

“It must have been nice to get away though. And to Paris of all places.”

“You’re just saying that ’cause you’ve never been before.”

“Yet,” Lucy adds. “I’ll visit one of these days. With you as my tour guide.”

That gets him to chuckle. “I’ll take you to the best places.”

“And not just restaurants, right?”

“Right.” Then he pauses for a moment. “Hey, Luce?”

“Yes?”

He is quiet for a moment. “Okay, I didn’t say anything before. Well, I didn’t say what I wanted to say at the moment. I went with the mini vacation instead, which I planned on saying anyways.”

She has no idea what he possibly means. “What are you talking about?”

He doesn’t beat around the bush. He gets right to the point, even if he is a little nervous about the topic. “Why aren’t we living together?”

Her mind goes blank for a moment. “Uh, well…” She puts some thought into it. “We haven’t even been dating for two months.”

“We both know it feels way longer than that.”

He does have a point, but Lucy is trying to be reasonable about the matter. “But is that long enough for a couple to start living together.”

“Every couple has their own pace.”

Which is true. She can’t argue that.

“If it makes you feel about living together, I’ll pop the question now and–”

“You have to wait until first anniversary before doing that,” she reminds him. “No officially asking me to marry you until then.”

“So I can do it the day of?”

“If you want to wake me up with breakfast in bed and a ring, then sure.”

He snuggles a tad bit closer to his girlfriend. “Oh, you can count on that. Maybe not that exactly, but something similar.” He is already planning…

“As long as you’re the one asking me, I’ll be fine with it.”

“Whatever you say, Mrs. Dragneel.”

“And that’s _if ___you propose to me first. There’s still a chance of you being Mr. Heartfilia, remember?”

“Yeah, but I like the sound of Mrs. Dragneel for you. And I’m stubborn about things. So I’m sure that I’ll beat you to the punch.”

“So you think,” she teases.

“I know.”

x-X-x

Nearly one month later, Natsu and Happy are fully moved into Lucy’s apartment. Now it’s their apartment, their home.

Lucy and Happy are currently on the couch. 

The door opens, and Natsu strolls inside. He is getting back from his shift at Makarov’s Pizzeria. “Luce!” he greets.

She looks away from her book to look at him. “Oh, hey, Natsu.”

After shutting the door with his foot, he walks over to the couch to sit down next to his girlfriend. “Sooo…” he drawls out, nudging her with an elbow repeatedly. 

“Sooo… ?”

Natsu whips out his phone and shows Lucy a picture of a newborn baby dressed in pink.

“Aww, she’s cute,” Lucy coos. “Who’s baby?”

“Mira and Lightning Face’s little girl. Born today.”

Lucy can assume that Lightning Face is Laxus. She knows that Natsu knows them because of his work. Only now does she realize that she never told Natsu about the car accident that Mirajane had been in.

“Wanna know her name?”

She isn’t sure where to even start guessing. “What is it?”

“Mini back story first.” Then he flips to another photo of the baby. “Lightning Face and Mira wanted to be surprised when the baby was born. Not even Makarov knew. Anyways, they had a boy named all picked out, but only the first name for a girl. They were hoping for a boy, but when she was born, both of ’em knew a perfect middle name.

“So what’s her name?”

Natsu softly smiles. “Annabelle Lucy Dreyar.”

Lucy is stunned. “Did they name her… ?” But her voice trails off.

“Makarov told me a lil’ story today. Annabelle’s middle name comes from the young woman who went out of her way to help Mira. She was in a car accident. It wasn’t anything life threatening, but it was still big for everybody involved. Especially for a pregnant lady.

“But it’s all fine now. Annabella is healthy. Mira is doing great. Lightning Face is proud of ’em both.”

“Sounds like a great fairy tale ending for everyone.”

Putting away his phone, Natsu playfully boops her nose. “Just wait until you meet her.”

“Wait, I get to meet Annabella?”

He nods. “They’ll be having a lil’ shindig at their place. Of course, you’re invited since you’re my plus one.”

“Is that so?” Lucy chuckles.

“Quite so.” Then he snuggles up to his girlfriend, shutting his eyes. He inhales deeply, exhaling through his mouth. “This is nice.”

“What is?”

“Being with you.” Then his hand makes his way to pet Happy who is curled up on her lap. “And him. All of us being together.”

“Like a little family.”

“Just wait until we add members.” It is clear what he is implying. He definitely doesn’t mean adding another pet so Happy has a sibling.

“That won’t happen until _after ___marriage,” she firmly reminds me. The most they’ve done in bed together is make out. Natsu has and hasn’t been shirtless. Nothing more though.

“I know, no worries,” Natsu assures her. He won’t dare cross her line until their wedding night.

Even now she still appreciates him not pushing for something that she doesn’t want to do. Well, she does want to do it. Eventually. After marriage eventually. She won’t repeat what her parents did.

“We’ve got time ahead of us,” he adds.

“Nothing but time.”

“Heh, at least we’ll have time to plan the wedding.”

“And before that, we’ll have to be engaged.”

“Hey, that won’t happen right away all because a certain somebody said I hafta wait. A certain somebody who is cute as fuck.”

“Will you ever let that go?” Lucy giggles, referring to the review that she left.

“No. Never. You wanna know why?” He doesn’t give her time to respond. “Because that review is why we started talking. It’s special to me. And I like saying those three words. Cute as fuck.”

“I like saying “I love you” to you.”

He smiles. “I like hearing that you from you. I also like telling you that, too.”

“And to think I was the one who said it first. In my sleep.” She doesn’t remember it at all, but she recalls the time Natsu told her about it.

“It’s okay. You made up for it.”

“Oh, that’s good to know,” she teases.

“It’s great to know,” he corrects her.

She playfully rolls her eyes. “So you say.”

“I love you, Luce.”

That gets her to smile. “I love you, too, Natsu.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: Been planning for NaLu to live together for forever now. I’ve just been playing it off XD PS. The lil’ scene about the bush totally came from my NaLu work, More Than a Princess. Because I love that scene so much. I made sure to keep it in Elvina!
> 
> A/N Part 2: Let’s see if we make it to Chapter 65 before I’m done :P I have the last chapter planned out, but idk when that’ll happen. Not sure if anything else will happen in the CAF universe or nah… When I do post the last chapter, I’ll be sure to make a clear a/n about it!


	63. Chapter 63

Come October, everything is in full swing at the reception. Levy and Gajeel are married. It’s time to celebrate!

The dance floor is filled with guests. A romantic love song is playing. People are swaying to the music, going around in a slow circle.

Lucy and Natsu are in each others’ arms together. He is dressed in his best man glory. The tuxedo is a great look for him. On the other hand, the color of Lucy’s golden yellow dress matches the rest of the bridal party. Levy decided that she wants her girls all wearing the same color. Dress style doesn’t matter.

Speaking of the bridal party, since Lucy is a part of it, she has noticed that Levy hasn’t had a single sip of alcohol. It started with her kindly turning down a glass of mimosa while all the girls were getting ready together. She claimed that she is a bundle of nerves and alcohol doesn’t calm her down. Even with the reception underway and being as happy as can be, she is still turning down drinks.

When the song starts ending, the DJ talks into the microphone that he has. “Alright, everybody. There are two very important people who have something to say.” Then he hands a microphone to Gajeel and Levy who are standing nearby.

“Oi, settle down now, everybody,” Gajeel says since people have yet to settle.

“There’s something that we would like to announce!” Levy says.

Gajeel seems as though he is bursting at the seams. He’s more than excited to share the news with everyone.

Only when the room is silent does Levy speak again. “I’m pregnant!” 

Lucy is absolutely thrilled. She isn’t shocked in the slightest though. It only makes sense that she hasn’t consumed a drop of alcohol.

Every single guest gives off a reaction to the news. They’re clapping and whistling. Some are shouting forms of congratulations. 

“Atta boy, Lug Nuts!” Natsu cheers. His arms stay around Lucy. He doesn’t let her go. He doesn’t want to.

Lucy turns her attention to her boyfriend, a big smile on her face. “They’re having a baby!”

He returns her smile when one of his own. “Eh, I figured they’d beat us to it.”

She just stares at him.

Then Natsu stumbles over words. “I, uh, mean that, you know, with our groups of friends. Not just, er, us two in particular. We’ll catch up to ’em when we’re married.”

“Surrre,” Lucy says in a teasing manner. She knows that he didn’t mean what he said moments ago. But that doesn’t mean that she can’t have some fun with the slight misunderstanding.

He simply kisses the top of her head and tucks her face against the crook of his neck. He doesn’t want her seeing his reddening face. “You’re lucky I love you.”

She grins a little bit. “I love you, too.”

By the time close family and new in-laws talk with Levy and Gajeel, their wedding party is the next group to go over. The new husband and wife are surrounded by their friends.

Gray claps Gajeel on the back. “Congratulations, man.”

Juvia clasps her hands together in front of her chest. “Juvia is so happy for the both of you!”

Lucy looks at Levy. “Now it makes sense that you didn’t want any mimosa earlier.”

“Nothing gets past you, Lu,” she giggles.

“When did you find out?” Erza inquires with interest.

“This morning,” Gajeel replies.

Levy begins to tell the little story. “I felt a little off when I woke up. Not wrong, but different. And it wasn’t because I was getting married. So Gajeel bought a pregnancy test for me. I took both just to make sure. Both were clearly positive.”

“Heh, watch you guys have twins now,” Natsu chortles.

“The number of pregnancy tests you take doesn’t determine how many kids you’ll have,” Erza says.

Gajeel rolls his eyes at the absurdity of his cousin.

Gray does the same thing because of his best friend. “Let’s just hope that their kids all take after Lucy and not Ash Brains.”

“Oi, what was that?” Natsu demands, shooting a glare his way.

“No fighting,” Lucy says.

Like the flip of a switch, Natsu is all smiles and looking at Lucy. “Who said anything about fighting?”

Sting shakes his head. “Typical Natsu…”

“So I guess we’ll be having a baby shower for you two next, huh?” Rogue asks.

“After the honey moon,” Gajeel responds just as Levy replies with, “When I’m further along.”

Lucy is all smiles. She’s so happy for her friends. One day, she’ll have what they have. A married life. A wonderful husband by her side. A child or children of her own. She is looking forward to that. At least she is already on the path towards it.

As if thinking the same thoughts as her, Natsu grabs her hands and laces their fingers together. He gives her a gentle squeeze.

She squeezes back.

**x-X-x ******

Towards the back of the room, away from the loud music, Lucy is gently swaying from side to side. Annabelle is flush against in her arms. She doesn’t mind watching the baby while Laxus and Mirajane dance. Lisanna and Elfman are hanging around a group of friends. Makarov is with his own group of friends.

Lucy loves children, especially babies. She loves the wonder in their eyes, the pure joy in their expression, and their sleeping faces. One day, she’ll at least have one of her own. She can only imagine what they will look like. Will they mostly take after her in looks? Will she be able to see Natsu in them?

As if thinking about him is the key to summoning him, Natsu strolls over to Lucy. His jacket and tie are gone. The vest is still on and the top button from his button-up is undone. “Having fun over here?”

Still swaying, she nods her head at Natsu. Then she looks down at the little sleeping Annabelle. “She’s great.”

So he can get a good look and still be close to Lucy, Natsu slides in behind her. He is peering around her head on the right side, hands around her waist. He sways in place with her. “You’re great.”

That gets her to giggle.

The moment is picture perfect.

Someone thinks that. So the male photographer lines up the shot and takes a photo.

Both Lucy and Natsu look up at him.

“Lovely couple,” he comments. “And beautiful baby.”

Lucy is too tongue tied to correct him. She is a little embarrassed yet secretly happy with the slight misunderstanding.

On the other hand, Natsu is too caught up in the moment. Someone thinks that he, Lucy, and the baby are family. That’s something he wants with Lucy. To be married to her and have a family of their own. Even if it means sleepless nights because of a baby, he is ready to embrace that lifestyle.

Then the photographer nods his head and goes off to look for the next candid moment.

“D-did that really just happen?” Lucy asks.

The smile on Natsu’s face is almost blinding. “It did. Definitely did.”

**x-X-x ******

It’s the early hours of morning now. The after party at a bar is over. Lucy and Natsu are walking into their shared apartment. Happy is asleep on the bed and isn’t disturbed by them. The light by the door is turned on so there is visibility.

With heels in hand, Lucy twirls through the living room. She is still slightly buzzed since she didn’t want to go overboard with drinking. “That was a lot of fun.”

Natsu is totally fine since he wanted a sober driver between him and Lucy. He locks the door behind him. “It sure was.”

She stops twirling to face him. “Do you think our wedding day will be like theirs?”

He only smiles as he walks over to her. “It’ll be better.”

“Why’s that?” she giggles.

“Because I’ll be marrying the most amazing person in the world. I can’t imagine life without her. She’s my best friend.”

Her heart swells. Then her arms are around his neck as she kisses his mouth. “You’re my best friend, too.”

He grins. “Don’t I know it?” Without warning, Natsu scoops his girlfriend into his arms. He heads for the bedroom so they can go to sleep.

She keeps a hold of her heels, making sure that she doesn’t drop one. “Should I shower tonight before bed or when I wake up?” Lucy isn’t entirely sure and is having a mini eternal struggle.

“I guess whichever helps you sleep better? But maybe you wanna have a fresh start to the day?”

Down the hall, Natsu expertly turns off the light with his shoulder so the living room goes dark. He can navigate down the hallway just fine before making it into the bedroom where the light can be turned on.

“What are you going to do?” Lucy asks.

“Whichever one you don’t do. If you shower tonight, I’ll shower in the morning. Or vice versa.”

“But what if I want to shower tonight after you get out?”

“Then you can do that, too. Whatever you want Luce.”

“I want you.”

He smiles at her, pecking her nose. “You already have me. You always have. Since day one. Jammies and all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: Finally got around to the Gajevy wedding. And y’all know they’re gonna have twins, even though I want touch on it. So Natsu kinda foreshadows it?? Mostly a filler chapter, leading up to the end.
> 
> A/N Part 2: I’m doing it. I’m being stubborn about it. I’m gonna make it to Chapter 65 for CAF. So there will be one more chapter before the ending! And I’ve been eager for this chapter because of what’ll happen :D


	64. Chapter 64

Months have passed, making it the first of June. Lucy and Natsu have officially been dating for a year now. Unfortunately, they have yet to spend the day together due to work. Yay for conflicting schedules.

Lucy is approaching home, computer bag in hand. She doesn’t bother fishing out her apartment key to get the lock. She knows it isn’t locked since Natsu is inside. He’s waiting for her.

After opening the door and talking two steps inside, Lucy comes to a stop. Her eyes grow wide. Her breath gets taken away.

There are scattered, heart-shape balloons against the ceiling. They all have photos tied to the string at the end. The coffee table has lit, wonderful smelling candles on it.

Not looking away from what is in front of her, Lucy finally closes the door and sets down her computer bag. As if walking through water, she steps towards the closest balloon. She doesn’t have to grab the photo since it is around eye level.

In the photo, Lucy and Natsu are smiling at the camera from the selfie point of view. It is from this past Valentine’s Day. Their first Valentine’s Day as a couple.

Lucy moves onto the next photo. It is from Halloween. Natsu is dipping her as he plants a big one on her lips. They are dressed up as Rapunzel and Flynn rider costumes from _Tangled ___.

The rest of the photos are from other cute and special moments Lucy and Natsu have shared. From dates to holidays together. There is even one of Natsu taking a selfie with a sleeping Lucy.

Her heart is melting. She might as well be in the starting phases of becoming a puddle. “Natsu!” she calls, having the urge to hug him as hard as she can. “Natsu!”

“Coming!” he responds, his voice coming from the bedroom.

Lucy is already moving to meet him. The sooner that she can hug him, the better.

“Hey, what’s up-Oof!” Natsu doesn’t get jostled around much when his girlfriend.

Now with him in her arms, Lucy is getting emotional. She is tearing up a little bit. “And I love you. Like, a whole lot.”

Smiling, he hugs her back. “I love you, too, Luce.”

They stay in place for a moment, just taking in one another. They have to recharge after being apart since the morning. It’s after seven o’clock now.

“Do you wanna go sit down?” Natsu finally asks. “I’ve got food ready for you.”

She merely nods.

So he tightens his grip on Lucy and lifts her off of her feet. He carries her over to the couch and sets her down on one end.

She grabs his hands before he walks away to go into the kitchen.

“Yeah?” he questions, looking down at her.

Lucy doesn’t let go of his hand. “You’re really sweet.”

Smiling, Natsu bends down so she doesn’t have to look up at him. “That’s my job, Luce. I’m your sweetie.”

“You’re more than that to me.”

“Kinda like how you’re my everything?”

She nods.

His smile gets even bigger.

Lucy briefly glances around the room. “How long have you been planning this?”

“I started planning a month ago. Since I wanted everything to be special for you.”

“Us,” Lucy corrects him. “We’re dating each other in this relationship.”

Natsu leans forward to peck her lips. “Ain’t that the truth?” Then he stands up and leaves his girlfriend to go into the kitchen.

She occupies herself with looking at the balloons and photos. He can be so sweet at times. Especially when it comes to her. He’ll always have a soft spot for her.

Carrying two glasses of wine, Natsu enters the family room.

“So it’s a wine kind of night then?” Lucy muses.

“It’s a special kinda night I think.” He sets one of the glasses down on the table and hands her the other one. “Then again, it’s always special when I’m with you.”

She smiles, sipping from the glass. “What did I do to deserve you?”

“I’m pretty sure it’s because you ordered a pizza that one fateful night… Which is exactly why we’re having pizza for dinner.”

She picks up on his hint. “Is it from Makarov’s?”

“As if I’d letcha eat pizza anywhere else,” he jokes, going back into the kitchen. After a moment, he enters the family room again with pizza box in hands. Two paper plates are balanced on the lid.

Lucy happens to notice that one of his shoes is untied. She doesn’t think that it was like that before when he brought in the wine. Maybe she just didn’t notice it then for some reason. “Your left shoe is untied,” she says.

He glances down at one shoe while still walking over to the couch. “Huh. This could end badly.” After setting the pizza box down on the coffee table, he bends down on one knee to tie his shoe.

To get started Lucy, sets down her glass to grab the plates. She sets them down on the table before opening the lid that is facing her.

The pizza has cheese and pepperonis on it. A specific message is spelled out in mushrooms.

_marry me? ___

“Feel free to leave a review,” Natsu says.

Lucy turns her gaze to him, discovering that he is holding an open ring box. Nestled inside is a beautiful, halo setting ring. The gold band is lined with little diamonds. The main diamond is round-cut and sparkling from every angle.

Tears are welling in her eyes. “I do,” she whispers.

He cracks a grin. “You’re supposed to say that when we actually get married, you weirdo. And I didn’t even ask you a ques-Oof!”

Lucy practically throws herself on him.

He somehow manages to not get knocked over flat on his back. Natsu does end up landing on his butt though, keeping a hold of the ring box. His free hand goes around her waist.

Now in his lap, Lucy cups his cheeks with both hands and kisses him senseless. She loves him. Really, truly loves him.

When they break the kiss, Natsu has a dazed expression across his face. “Whoa… I should propose more often if it means getting that kinda reaction from you.”

She giggles. “It’s only going to get better from here on out.”

“It’s a promise.”

“Because we’ll be together.”

“And it’s always more fun when we’re together.”

“Always,” she says, kissing him again.

After they stop kissing this time, Natsu asks a question. “Can I put the ring on you now?”

Lucy will not admit that she completely forgot about the ring. She nods in reply, getting off of her now fiancé to sit down on the couch. She doesn’t want to squish him anymore than she has.

Getting back on one knee, Natsu removes the ring from the box and slips it onto Lucy’s left hand. It’s a perfect fit. He knows her size from when she and Juvia had a just the two of them shopping day. They tried on rings so Gray knew what size to order for her engagement ring. When Natsu asked, Juvia was more than willing to tell him Lucy’s size since she made sure to remember.

Taking a moment, Lucy admires the ring on her finger. She smiles and makes eye contact with Natsu. “Did you pick it out on your own?”

“I brought a secret weapon along with me.”

Just like how Gray brought her along with him. “Who?” Lucy asks.

“Cana.”

She is more than surprised. “Cana? My Cana?”

“The one and only.” Then Natsu joins Lucy on the couch, sitting down right next to her against her right side. He casually laces the fingers of his left hand with the fingers of her hand that is closest to him.

Lucy files through her memory. She can’t recall any articles showing Cana in a jewelry store with Natsu. “How did she manage that without any paparazzi following her?”

“She wore a disguise.”

“Really?”

“The fake nose was a nice touch.”

“ _Really ___?”

“She had on a wig, too. And wore casual clothes. No signature style or anything.”

“She is known for going above and beyond expectations for people.”

“Especially for her sister.”

Lucy smiles, squeezing his hand. “Thank you.”

Just then, Happy hops up on the other end of the couch and meows loudly for attention.

Natsu grins at his furry buddy. “She said yes, Happy!”

As if replying to the joyous news, he meows again. Then he nestles down on a pillow.

“As if I’d say no to you,” Lucy jokes.

“I knew you were gonna say yes, but I was still nervous,” Natsu admits.

“It didn’t show at all.”

“Because I was freaking out in the bedroom before you got home. And then in the kitchen when I was alone and you were in here. But everything went right. Even with me untying my shoe.”

“Wait, you did that on purpose?”

“I needed an excuse to get down on one knee in front of you. If you didn’t call me out for it, I woulda said something about it.”

She is stunned by his attention to detail. “You’re amazing. I really hope that you know that.”

He shrugs. “I try.” Then he gasps when he remembers something. “Oh, yeah.” He points at the bookshelf in the room. “Smile for the camera.”

“Camera?” She looks over, but doesn’t see one. “What are you talking about?”

“I set up a hidden camera over there to record the moment. Actually, there is a couple since I wanted different angles. Borrowed one from Ice Princess.”

Lucy smiles while looking at Natsu. He really did think of everything for the memorable proposal. “Did you make the pizza, too?”

He nods. “Sure did! I went back to Makarov’s to make it while you were out for your book thing.”

She doesn’t know what to say. She’s absolutely speechless. Her happy emotions are starting to overwhelm her.

A growing stomach interrupts the mood.

Lucy uses both hands to cover her stomach. Her face is starting to turn red.

On the other, Natsu resists the urge to laugh. He doesn’t want her any more embarrassed than she already is. “How about we dig in?” he suggests.

She is mortified for a split second, forgetting her embarrassment. “Not before I get pictures of the pizza!”

He chuckles. “Relax, I already did that. Before you got home.”

“You’ve thought of just about everything for tonight.”

Natsu grabs both wine glasses and hands Lucy’s hers. “I give it my all when it comes to us.”

She holds out her glass. “To us.”

Smiling, he clinks the glasses together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: This chapter was supposed to be the last chapter. Wasn’t the case. The next chapter will be an epilogue of sorts! But I’m really happy about the NaLu proposal! I’ve been waiting for it!! :D
> 
> A/N Part 2: I finally applied for a second, part-time job! I’m hoping to get it and not get it. Getting it means making a bit more money. Gotta save up for my wedding :P Not getting it means I keep the same amount of free time I have for writing/reading… So we’ll see I suppose!


	65. Chapter 65: Epilogue (not the last chapter)

Exactly a year later, Lucy is getting ready for one of the biggest days of her life. In just under an hour, she’ll be marrying her best friend. In fact, it’s almost time for the first look. Cana is putting on some finishing touches to Lucy’s face with makeup.

“You’re going to knock his socks off,” Cana says.

Lucy doesn’t say anything since lipstick is being applied. Instead, she makes a positive sound towards the back of her throat.

“And maybe the rest of his clothes,” Cana chuckles.

“Cana!” Erza lightly scolds.

Cana cackles. “Just kidding!” Then she pauses for a moment. “That’ll come later…”

“ _Cana ___!” Erza is only defense since a child, the flower girl, is present. She knows that childhood youth doesn’t need to be corrupted at her age.

Cana just snickers to herself while she finishes touching up Lucy’s lips. “Annnd… done!”

“Thanks, Cana,” Lucy says.

“Oh, you look so beautiful, Lucy!” Juvia coos.

“That’s our Lu for you.” Levy adds. Luckily, she doesn’t have to worry about her twins. Metalicana has them since Gajeel is also in the wedding party. Of course, he is with Natsu and the other guys somewhere else in the building.

Lucy stands up and walks over to the full length mirror so she can take a look for herself. Sure enough, she is more than pleased with her look. Her white gown is fit for a princess. It is strapless with a sweetheart neckline. A sparkly jeweled belt is around her waist. The full tulle skirt has horsehair flounces. Her makeup is done just right. Her blonde hair is done in a half-up, half-down style.

She turns to face her bridal party. They all start awing. “You all are going to make me cry,” she says.

Erza approaches Lucy. “Only happy tears today.” Then she holds out Lucy’s bouquet of flowers.

“Thank you,” Lucy says, taking them from her. The stems have already been paper towel dried so droplets don’t end up on her dress.

There is a knock on the door.

“Who is it?” Levy asks in a loud enough voice.

“Just me,” Jude says from the other side of the door.

“You can come in,” Cana says.

Jude opens the door and pokes his head inside. “It’s time for Lucy–” His eyes land on her and he stops speaking.

“Hey, Dad,” Lucy greets.

He smiles, eyes glistening. “My little girl… You look just like your mother.”

It is one of the best compliments that she can receive.

Then Jude recalls why he stopped by the room. “The photographer told me to get you. It’s time for the first look.”

The butterflies in Lucy’s stomach zoom around. She is more than eager to see how Natsu looks. She has seen him in a tuxedo before, but how he looks today can’t compare. “I’m ready,” she voices.

“Go get him, Lu,” Levy says.

Juvia nods in agreement. “We’ll find you after the first look.”

So Lucy leaves with Jude, the two walking side by side. “Have you seen him?” she asks.

“You’ll think that he’s very handsome,” he assures her.

“He’s always handsome. Pink hair and all.”

“Are you saying that because he’s a model?” Jude lightly teases.

“Oh, most definitely,” she jokes.

The duo makes it through the back hallways without being seen by any guests inside of the building. They come to the side of the building where a gazebo is out back. Looking out a window, Lucy can see Natsu standing under the gazebo with his back towards the building. He is waiting for her.

Her heart just about leaps up to her throat.

Before stepping away, Jude kisses his daughter’s forehead. Then he gets the door and holds it open for her. “If he doesn’t cry, make sure you walk back out there and try again.”

 

“I’ll be sure to do that,” she chuckles, and steps outside.

The brunette photographer is standing by the gazebo. The blonde one is behind Lucy to make sure that she is all good to go.

“Keep walking and I’ll fix your dress in the back,” the woman says, going to fluff up the skirt so it falls right. She pays attention to details so everything is picture perfect.

Lucy keeps on going. She focuses on the back of Natsu. Even from the distance that she is at, she thinks that the back of his tuxedo look great. She can’t wait to see the rest of him.

With hands clasped in front of him, Natsu is rocking back and forth on his heels. He can hear his best friend approaching. His heart rate picks up when he hears her shoes against the wooden floor.

The two photographers get into position so they can capture the moment from different angles. “On the count of three, Natsu, turn around,” the brunette woman says.

He asks a question since he needs clarification. “Wait, on three or after three?”

That gets Lucy to laugh. “After three,” she specifics.

Natsu freezes up at the sound of her laughter. He wants to turn around right now and look at her. But he’ll wait for the countdown.

“One…” the brunette photographer begins to count down. “Two… Three!”

Without getting whiplash, Natsu’s head turns first and the rest of his body follows. He looks at her, taking her all in. His eyes glass over. Seconds later, silent tears are rolling down his cheeks. 

Lucy’s heart squeezes and her grip around her bouquet tightens. “Aw, Natsu. You’re going to make me cry.” 

He uses a hand to wipe away his tears. “You’re-you’re-you’re–” But he can’t get anything else out since he’s so choked up about things.

She closes the distance between them until she is standing right in front of him. “Hey,” she says, hoping to calm him down.

Natsu holds out his right hand.

She holds it with her left.

He takes her hand, fingers grazing over her engagement ring. Another ring will be joining it in all due time. And he’ll have one on his own left hand as well. Their rings will be their sign to the world that they are husband and wife. Nothing can ever take that away from them.

“H-hi,” Natsu manages to say.

Lucy admires him in his tuxedo. The jacket and pants are black. His rose pink tie matches the bridesmaids’ dresses. “I like this look on you,” she comments.

“And you…” he says breathlessly. “I’ve got no words for how you look.”

She decides to help him out with a phrase all too familiar to them. “Cute as fuck?” she offers.

“You’re cute as fuck on a daily basis,” Natsu says whole heartedly. “This, how you look _right now ___, is on a whole other level. Beautiful as fuck doesn’t even cover it.”

She giggles. “That doesn’t have the same ring to it.”

At the sound of her giggle, Natsu’s heart just melts. “I love you so fucking much.”

“I hope so since we’re getting married soon.”

“Hey, I wanted to get married even sooner, but a certain somebody wanted to get married on the same day we got engaged.”

“I happen to like having our anniversary on June first,” Lucy sasses.

“At least it’s an easy date to remember.”

“You won’t mix up when we started dating and when we got married either.”

“Good point…” Then Natsu starts leaning in for a kiss. Seconds later, he reels back. “Waaait!”

“What?” she pouts.

“We haven’t kissed yet today.”

“And?”

He smiles. “The first time I kiss you today, you’re gonna be my wife.”

Which means that they’ll have their first kiss of the day at the end of the ceremony.

“Even though I’m so kissable right now?”

“Let’s be honest, you’re _always ___kissable.” Then he raises their joined hands to kiss the back of her left hand. “Always.”

She can’t stop the smile from forming on her face. “You’re sweet.”

“Look who’s talking.”

“Are you two ready for posed shots now?” the blonde photographer asks. Of course, she and her partner have been photographing their adorable interaction with one another. Candid moments are always great moments.

Lucy and Natsu both look at her. He smiles way too big. “Cheese!”

That gets her to laugh at him. “You’re such a weirdo.”

“No, you’re the weirdo in this relationship. We’ve already established that.”

“Am not.”

“Are to. And I love you for it.”

“I love you, too.”

**x-X-x ******

Almost. The big moment is almost about to happen. It is towards the end of the ceremony and the couple is more than eager to share their first kiss as husband and wife.

The setting is perfect. Outdoors with nice weather. There is a slight overcast and both photographers have assured the party that overcast is best for photographing outdoors. The guests are seated in chairs inside a large garden’s walls.

Lucy and Natsu don’t break eye contact from one another. They both have big smiles on their faces.

“And now,” the officiant says as he begins to step away so he doesn’t end up in the photos, “you may kiss the bride.”

Natsu wastes no time. His arms go around Lucy and he dips her down before sinking his lips into hers.

Everyone present does their own thing of expressing how they feel. Most are clapping. Some are whistling.

When their lips break apart, Natsu still holds Lucy in the same position. “ _Je t’aime avec le pouvoir d’un millions de soleils qui explosent dans un supernova de chatons et d’arc-en-ciels ___.”

“ _Tu es mon rayon de soleil ___,” she says in a near perfect French accent. She has been learning a lot of the language. After all, they are honeymooning in Paris. “ _Je t’aime ___."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Not gonna lie, I’m a sucker for first look moments. The fiancé and I will do one come our wedding day :D AND SURPRISE. I’ve got one more chapter for y’all! If this is an epilogue, think of the next chapter as an epilogue bonus of sorts!!


	66. Chapter 66: Bonus Epilogue (the last chapter)

Come July, Lucy is home alone with Happy while Natsu is at work. The duo is in the bathroom. Since she is a week late on her period, she decided to take a particular test. Now she is staring at a positive pregnancy test.

Lucy looks over at Happy who is sitting on the closed lid of the toilet. “I’m pregnant…”

He meows in response.

“Happy, I’m _pregnant ___,” she stresses.

Like before, he meows.

She looks back at the test. It is resting on folded up toilet paper on the counter. Then she looks at Happy. “Do you think I should take the other test? You know, just to make sure?”

This time, he lets out a long meow.

“Is that a yes or a no?”

He lets out a short meow this time.

“Let’s go with you said yes at first, but then changed your mind.” Focusing back on the test, she caps it and wraps it in fresh toilet paper. She can show it to Natsu later as proof if he doesn’t believe her. Well, not that he won’t. He has no reason not to trust her. Especially with the topic of pregnancy.

Honeymoon baby. Lucy has no doubt that their baby is a honeymoon baby. The timing makes since. A visit to the doctor will probably confirm what she is thinking. Of course, Natsu will accompany her to that appointment. And all future appointments. He’ll be the one insisting on it. There is no doubt about that.

So until Natsu gets home, Lucy has time to figure out how to tell him that she is pregnant. She can just outright tell him and get straight the point. Perhaps she can make a game out of it? Or prepare a sweet surprise. Something will come to her in due time.

Lucy opts out on baby stuff. The apartment is already supplied with some because of the Redfox twins. Natsu will probably assume that a baby gift is for one of them. She can get something for him though. Like a tee-shirt saying something about being a dad. But that means getting home with it before he arrives after work.

Setting the wrapped up test on the counter, Lucy leaves the bathroom. Happy hops off of the toilet and trails after her. They go into the family room and both sit down on the couch. With her laptop on her lap, he is snuggled up besides her.

“Let’s see what the Internet says…” Lucy says as if Happy knows what she is up to. She is going to look up ways pregnancies have been revealed to the father.

Some are cuter than others in her opinion. The classic bun in the oven is listed. Secretly recording the announcement, much like Natsu did with proposing, shows up.

Lucy doesn’t even realize when she dozes off.

**x-X-x ******

Natsu shouting her name from the bathroom wakes Lucy up.

She is entirely discombobulated. Rather than being on the couch in the family room, she is tucked into bed. She sits up just as Natsu rushes into the bedroom.

He holds up the positive pregnancy test. “Is this for real?!” He is holding his breath since he’s afraid that his excitement will pop like a balloon and die out.

As if Lucy can deny anything. And so much for surprising him on her own time. “Surprise… ?”

His excitement explodes tenfold. “I’m gonna be a dad!” Then he practically launches himself onto the bed, snuggling up to his wife. He kisses her all over her face until he pulls back to look at her. “I’m gonna be a dad because of you.”

“I’m pretty sure that you play a part in me being pregnant,” she points out.

“I’m not gonna be the pregnant one. I won’t have cravings or mood swings.” Then he makes a face. “Ugh, or morning sickness.”

“Well, when you put it that way…”

“You’re amazing. And you’re going to be amazinger.”

“That isn’t a word,” she chuckles.

“More amazing,” he corrects. Then Natsu sets the pregnancy test on the nearby nightstand. He looks at it for a moment. “Wow…” 

“We’re going to be parents,” she states.

“Amazing parents,” he corrects, and looks at her. “How long have you known?”

“I took the test around noon,” Lucy replies. “I told Happy and–”

“Happy knew before me?” he interrupts, not meaning to be rude.

She playfully rolls her eyes. “I highly doubt that he knows what the word “pregnant” means.”

“Hey, we told him when Levy and Lug Nuts were pregnant. The twins have been over here.”

“He’s just a cat.”

“You still don’t like it when Happy’s in the same room when we’re busy having se–”

“Because it’s weird,” she interrupts, feeling embarrassed.

He just shrugs. “Nothing to be weirded out about.”

“Says you.”

“Yeah, says me.”

“So how did I end up in here?” Lucy inquires.

“I got home and found you sleeping on the couch. I figured the bed would be better. So I closed your laptop and brought you into here.”

“Wait, did you see what I was doing on my laptop?” She knows that she didn’t close out any of her browsers.

“Nope. It was asleep so I didn’t bother looking.”

“Oh.”

“Oh?” He decides to tease her. “Should I be worried?”

“I was looking up ways to surprise you that I’m pregnant.”

“Leaving the test on the counter was one way to surprise me.”

“I had it wrapped up.”

“Toilet paper isn’t an effective means of wrapping anything,” Natsu laughs.

“I learned my lesson, all right?”

“For next time,” he hints.

“Let’s see how the rest of this pregnancy goes, shall we?”

**x-X-x ******

There is no way of denying what is showing on the ultrasound screen. Lucy has noticed that her belly seems bigger than expected for her given stage in the pregnancy. But she never expected triplets!

“From the look of things, there are two girls and one boy,” the female technician says, pointing at the screen.

“How’s that possible?” Natsu asks in awe.

“A likely cause is two eggs from the start, but one of them split. So two identical girls and one fraternal boy.”

Lucy is letting reality sink in. Triplets. Her first time being pregnant and she is having triplets. Two girls and one boy.

Natsu gives her hand that he is holding a squeeze. He is grinning from ear to ear. “What do you think, Luce?”

“We’re going to be first time parents _and we’re having triplets ___,” she stresses.

“There’s _nothing ___we can’t handle, you know that. When life gives you triplets, you have triplets.”

“I don’t think that’s how the lemons saying goes,” she teases.

“If there’s a twist and you have lemons, I’ll be surprised.”

“You and me both.”

**x-X-x ******

The remainder of Lucy’s pregnancy seems to flash by. The triplets are only a week old. Miraculously, all three are fast asleep in their separate cribs. Lenore is the oldest of the trio. Younger than her identical sister by a minute is Lynette. Leon is two minutes younger than the middle Dragneel sibling.

They all have French first names because of their “French origin” as their father likes saying.

Lucy and Natsu are standing nearby, just watching their sleeping children now that they all are settled in.

“Wow…” he says in a quiet voice.

She smiles. “I know.”

“We make good lookin’ kids.”

She muffles a laugh as to not disturb any of the sleeping babies. Then she tugs on his shirt and jerks her head towards the door.

Natsu leads the way out of the nursery and closes the door when Lucy leaves the room. “Now that we have time to ourselves…” His voice is highly suggestive.

She finishes his sentence with three simple words. “We can nap.”

“I love hearing those three words from you. Music to my ears.”

“And I thought nothing could ever top you hearing me say “I love you” to you,” she teases, already heading towards their bedroom.

Given the location of the master bedroom and spare bedroom in the apartment, Lucy and Natsu will have no trouble hearing a baby cry. For now, the family of five and a cat are still at the apartment. However, a house is in their near future.

Natsu promptly faceplants onto his half of the bed. His voice is muffled when he speaks.

“What?” Lucy asks, joining him in bed. She lies down on her back.

His right cheek is against the mattress so he can speak clearly. “I love my life right now.”

She smiles. “Is that so?”

The two pay no attention when Happy hops up onto the bed and nestles down towards the end of it. He stays away from limbs for now.

“I’m married to my best friend,” Natsu goes on. “My cat is my other best friend, my furry best friend. I’ve got three amazing kids. We’ll be getting a house soon. Both our jobs are keeping us busy.”

“Life can work in some pretty wonderful ways,” Lucy muses.

“Like who woulda thought a little review would led to where we are now?”

“Hey, you played a role, too,” she points out. “I thought that review wasn’t going to be much. You were the one who texted me.”

“What can I say? It made my night.” He smiles at her. “And you’ve made my life.” Then Natsu pushes himself up onto his elbows and scoots closer to Lucy’s face. His head is above hers. " _Je t’aime. Je t’aime avec le pouvoir d’un millions de soleils qui explosent dans un supernova de chatons et d’arc-en-ciels. ___"

" _Je t’adore, ___" she says, and lifts her head to kiss his lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Part 1: AND THAT’S A WRAP FOR CAF :D Whoa. This supposed to be one-shot ended up with 66 chapters!! Thank you all for the attention CAF has received!! :D
> 
> A/N Part 2: I gave NaLu triplets since the fiancé talks about having them down the road! We both think 3 is a good number. I’ve told him there’s a chance I can have twins. He just says have triplets so we knock ’em all out at once XD
> 
> A/N Part 3: And again, a massive thank you to MarSofTheGalaxies from FFnet for helping me with English to French translations! In future works, I really wanna make Natsu be bilingual again because I had so much fun with it in CAF :D
> 
> I’m not totally sure when I’ll get around to updating a work/posting a new one. It won’t hurt to follow me or my current works that I have. Just be on the lookout so you don’t miss out :D

**Author's Note:**

> A/N Part 1: Whelp, my hands slipped and totally turned a post into a Fairy Tail NaLu thing... This was totally inspired by on-novacaine from Tumblr! I thought it was totally cute/adorable and wanted to make something of it!!
> 
> A/N Part 2: Due to popular demand, I added onto this work! This was supposed to be a one-shot, but that isn’t the case now… I’m cross-posting from my AO3 and FFnet accounts. So if you wanna catch up faster, I suggest going to one of those sites!


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